Prisoner of War
by TheRoaringDragon
Summary: Discontinued.
1. Prologue

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**Prisoner of War**

Disclaimer: I do not own Mulan.

Prologue

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"No, no, no, please stop! I'll talk, I'll talk!"

Screams of pain filled the air. The masked man removed the torch from the bound soldier's feet. A few meters away, a tall figure with yellow eyes stood silently, watching the soldier writhe on the ground.

The figure stepped forward, eyeing the soldier with animosity. He crouched down to the soldier's level, and used his hand to turn the soldier's face towards his.

"Now then, care to tell me what the Imperial Army's next move is?" he asked. He dug his nails into the soldier's face, causing a bit of blood to trickle from the soldier's cheeks.

"…They're heading north," the soldier's answer was strained, his feet still in pain. "The army was about to leave the Imperial City when you captured me."

The soldier, attempting to cover up his fear, spat blood on the man after finishing his sentence. Once he saw his captor's face, however, he realized that was not one of his brightest ideas. His captor backed away, and grabbed the nearest thing he could get his hands on (which in this case happened to be the masked man that held the torch), and wiped the blood out of his eyes.

He drew a sword from his waist, and before the soldier could react, he plunged it into the soldier's chest. Blood splattered in all directions. As he removed his sword, it flowed out, creating a dark pool at his feet.

Another man scrambled up to him, offering a piece of cloth. He took it, and silently began to clean his sword. He turned to face his followers.

"Ready the horses! We must get back to the Commander!" The men around the camp hurried, not wanting to be left behind. He snapped his fingers, and a scrawny boy ran up to him.

The man pointed to the body and said, "You know what to do."

The boy nodded, and proceeded to move the body away from camp. He struggled with the body; it was heavier than it looked! After hauling it outside of camp, he came across a pathway between the trees. He dragged the body against the ground, and dumped it in a bush next to the pathway.

'The next person to come this way should find it,' he thought. After being around these men long enough, he no longer felt the initial disgust that usually came from seeing a dead body.

As he walked back to camp, he passed by a small stream. He stopped. Crouching down, he washed his hands in the cool water. He looked at his reflection, noticing the dirt on his face. His mouth was pulled into a frown, and his skin had become more tanned since he was taken prisoner.

He finally came across his eyes. They no longer held the shine that used to be there. They were dull; the happiness that they held before his captivity wasn't there anymore.

"Boy, get back here! We're leaving!" His captor's voice boomed from the camp.

The boy stood up, and ran back to the barren campsite.

"Yes sir."

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**A/N**: Hi there! This is my first Mulan fanfic, and this is only the prologue, so please don't flame me! I realize that my writing isn't very good, so any constructive criticism would be very helpful and greatly appreciated. Thank you!


	2. Chapter 1

**Prisoner of War**

Disclaimer: I do not own Mulan.

Chapter 1

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It is a very large responsibility to be the Emperor of China. The Emperor must be noble, wise, and respectable. He must be able to command others without hesitation; be willing to listen to the opinions of others, and take them into consideration before making a decision. He must have a rather large amount of patience, and have no tolerance for things that will hinder the prosperity of the nation. Although, there are times when even the Emperor's patience finally reaches its limit.

"Good morning, your majesty!" This was one of those times.

"Good morning, Chi Fu," the Emperor moved to sit down on his throne. "What are the issues that need to be discussed today?"

Maybe he should offer the job to Fa Mulan again.

"Oh, don't worry, sir! We can leave those unimportant issues to those of a lower status than your majesty!" It wasn't that Chi Fu didn't do his job well-he was very good at it, actually. Oh no, it was more of the issue as to _how_ it was presented, rather than _what_ was presented.

Not one to delay, the Emperor declared, "Chi Fu, I believe that all issues are important in order to strengthen this nation. Pushing them onto others will only further complicate them."

Chi Fu stumbled on his words, and took out his brush, clipboard, and a scroll, which listed all of the problems, disputes, and issues that the Emperor faced daily.

"Y-yes, of course your majesty! Such wise words could only come from a ruler such as you!"

Before he could carry on with the matters, however, the large red doors in the front of the room burst open. Two soldiers, one a major, and the other a captain, quickly walked to the throne, and bowed.

"What are you doing here? Can't you see that the Emperor has important bui-" the Emperor cut him off with a wave of his hand.

"Major Wei, Captain Li, rise," he commanded, "what seems to be the problem?"

Both men rose, but only Major Wei spoke. "Your majesty, a man was found murdered by the road only a couple of miles away from here. It was a soldier who had gone missing from the ranks of the Imperial Army only a couple of days ago. I believe that Captain Li would give a better explanation, as it was men under his command that found the body."

The Emperor frowned. He nodded; a sign for Captain Li to continue.

Shang looked at the Emperor, and began to explain the situation. "As you know, your highness, since the attack that Shan Yu made on China, the Imperial Army has been significantly weakened." The Emperor just listened, a hard look in his eyes.

"It has been three months since then, and almost every soldier who had served during Shan Yu's devastation is still in the army."

'Ah, yes,' thought the Emperor, 'I believe that Fa Mulan was the only one who returned home.'

"In addition, many new recruits have joined; in order to help replenish the hole that was left from the last battle." Shang paused for a moment, the memory of his father and the other soldiers who died in the Tung Shao Pass flashing through his mind.

"Under your direction, sir, we have split the army into two groups; one headed north to secure our borders, and the other was sent south," continued Shang.

The Emperor nodded. "Yes, this was to confuse any potential enemies, to give them a false sense of movement. If I am not mistaken, then I appointed you and Major Wei in command of the troops heading south, and General Feng Bao is in charge of the soldiers going north."

"Yes, sir, however, a day after General Feng left the Imperial City, one of his soldiers went missing; he had sent a message to us, asking if we knew where he was. Shortly after we had left the Imperial City, we had found the soldier's body on the side of a forest road."

"Did you do an inspection on the man's body?" asked the Emperor.

"Yes, sir. After inspection, we noticed that he had multiple cuts, bruises, and burns around his body, signs of his hands and feet being bound, and an incision in his chest. We believe that these are signs that the man was captured and tortured, for what exactly, we don't know, but if it is harmful to your majesty, then we want to take no chances."

"Do you have any leads?"

Major Wei stepped up. "We followed the trail that seemed to lead from the body to a nearby clearing in the forest. We inspected the area and found small evidence of a group camping there; around four people, your majesty."

The Emperor's expression darkened. This was serious-most would assume that if a person would want to torture any person out of sheer satisfaction, then they would go after a person who had a weaker build; one who didn't go through regular army training. 'But a soldier?' he thought.

'Where they targeting any soldier, or that man specifically…' his brow creased in thought.

"What are your orders, your majesty?"

Captain Li's voice broke him from his concentration. The Emperor looked back down at the two officers below him.

"Your orders are the same. Go back to the Wu Zhong camp, so that you may further train your soldiers. Once they have completed their training, send a messenger to me and await further orders," commanded the Emperor.

Major Wei got up, and with a "Yes, sir!" turned to leave. Shang, however, had not gotten up to leave. Instead, he stood there, seemingly waiting for something. The Emperor returned his attention back to Shang.

"Captain Li, was there something that you wanted to say to me?"

Shang looked back up at the Emperor, and asked, "Well, sir, would it be alright if a couple of soldiers, and myself made a short stop before making our way to the Wu Zhong camp?"

The Emperor gave a small smile. "Yes, Captain Li, you and a couple of other soldiers may take a small detour from your orders." From what he could see, Captain Li's face had considerably lit up from the earlier conversation.

"Thank you, your majesty!" Shang gave a bow before heading towards the door.

"Make sure to give Fa Mulan my regards, Captain." Shang stopped in his tracks, his face quickly turning the same shade as the palace walls. He turned around, gave another bow, and a small "Yes sir" before quickly leaving the room.

The Emperor chuckled. Captain Li should learn how to conceal some of his emotions; sometimes that boy could be read just as easily as the bamboo scrolls that Chi Fu carried. Then again, Chi Fu's scrolls never have been that easy for people to read; they were much too complicated for the untrained eye.

"Honestly, sir, I do not see what Captain Li sees in Fa Zhou's daughter, sir. Why-"

Ah, yes, Chi Fu was still in the room…now that he had started on his tirade, it would be hard for him to get off subject. He remembered when he had ordered his workers to rebuild the palace. Chi Fu had almost spoke the entire time of what he thought about that 'wretched Fa child'.

"-and really, disguising herself as a man? How long did she think that she could pull that off, did she think that her rouse would work forever?"

"Let me remind you Chi Fu," interrupted the Emperor, "that if Fa Mulan hadn't disguised herself as a man, then I would not be here. Also, if she had not gotten wounded at the Tung Shao Pass, she might have kept her charade going until she was able to go home. Now, I don't want to hear you say another word about Fa Mulan. Is that clear?"

"Y-y-yes, your highness, you won't hear anything further about _F-fa Mulan_." Though that last bit came out with disdain laced between the words, the Emperor did not take notice. He was too busy thinking, formulating a plan of action.

"Chi Fu," he stated. "Get me a scroll, a brush, and a messenger."

* * *

Shang wasn't focused as Major Wei led the troops though the land; his mind was preoccupied with thoughts about his discussion with the Emperor. He would be able to visit Mulan again! He had been thinking about her most of the time these last few months. Though he would not admit it out loud, he realized that his feelings for her had changed from just being her friend; he just didn't know what they were turning into. All he knew was that his feelings toward her had changed since he found out who she really was.

He found it hard to believe that she had been able to pass herself off as a soldier; she was very beautiful. Her eyes shown with intelligence, wisdom, and emotion. Mulan was not weak, like most other girls. She was strong, both mentally and physically. She was kind, courageous, loyal; the list could carry on forever in his mind.

Mulan had even made friends with the other soldiers, namely Yao, Ling, and Chien-Po. Shang sighed. He wanted to see Mulan again, and if he went without them, he would be able to spend some time alone with her. He didn't have anything against them; he just wanted to spend some time alone with Mulan. But he was sure that she would be upset if she wasn't able to see them, especially knowing that he could've brought them along.

Oh, well. At least he would be able to see her. He supposed that he should just be grateful that the Emperor would allow him to go, instead of heading straight to Wu Zhong.

'…How did he know that I wanted to visit Mulan?' thought Shang. 'I'm not that easy to read, am I? No, he probably just had a lucky guess that's all, right?'

"Yeah, right. And I'm a green monkey…" he mumbled. Major Wei, who had been riding ahead of him turned around on his horse.

"Did you say something Captain Li?"

"No, nothing sir."

* * *

Springtime at the Fa residence was always a peaceful one. The blossoms would bloom, and when a person would sit underneath the flourishing tree, they would know that it was a time of magic and beauty.

Mulan watched as many of the blossoms would fall with the wind. It has been three months since she came home, and it seemed like she still wasn't used to it yet. So much had happened during the six weeks she had been away…running away from home, joining the army, fighting Shan Yu…and then coming back home, she found that the transition from soldier one day, to farm girl the next was hard. Her parents were surprised to find that she would wake up before the sun rose to start her chores; all part of the -however short- military training that she had.

And even though it has been three months since she came home, Mulan still hasn't heard anything from her friends! She had told them to visit her sometime (it wasn't that hard to find out where the famous Fa Zhou lived), but they never have. In their letters, Yao, Ling, and Chien-Po mentioned before that the army is recruiting more people, and that they have become pretty busy. They mentioned invaders similar to Shan Yu's Huns coming in from the north. She imagined that they would be very busy now.

The last time that she has seen any of her friends was when Shang had come to give her back her helmet. His words were awkward and stumbled, but he seemed to relax after a little bit.

_Shang seemed anxious about something. Mulan had noticed him looking at her out of the corner of her eye. Whenever there seemed to be a break in conversation, his eyes would rest on her._

_Not wanting to risk him noticing that she had caught him in his act of staring, she had looked down at her bowl, and continued eating. She shot a glance at the other members at the table. Grandmother Fa returned her gaze, and winked, before saying,_

"_So, Captain, please, tell us, how exactly did Mulan manage to pass herself off as a man? Surely she wasn't able to fool everyone?"_

_Shang was knocked out of his trance-he had been staring at Mulan for quite a while, and it seemed like she wasn't the only one to notice. He flushed, and hesitated before speaking._

"_Ah, well, you see, 'Ping' was not a very good soldier at first. After a couple of weeks, though, she had managed to best most of the other recruits at everything, and quickly became one of the best there, if not the best." Mulan's parents gave her a look, silently questioning the name she had chosen. "Ping?" their eyes said._

_She gave a small shrug. It wasn't as if she could think of anything else! The rest of the dinner passed in silence. After dinner, her father spoke._

"_Mulan, why don't you take our guest for a tour of the garden? I'm sure that since it is still spring," he gestured outside, "that the flowers are still blooming."_

_Mulan nodded. "Yes, Baba."_

_She stood up and walked out, Shang thanked her parents, and soon followed suit. She led him through the garden, eventually stopping to sit on the bench underneath the blossom tree._

"_Uh, Mulan, I…" stuttered Shang. Mulan moved to face him, and he struggled with finding the right words._

"_I…I'm sorry," he said. Her eyes widened._

"_What would you have to be sorry about?" she asked._

"_I'm sorry that I left you in the mountains," he paused to look into her eyes. "You had just saved my life, all of our lives, and I just left you there. You even had a wound on your side and I left you there-alone-without even the medic to help you!"_

_Mulan shook her head. "You saved my life. Most commanding officers would have killed me right there. You didn't."_

"_And when you rode into the Imperial City to warn me about the Huns, I ignored you. You said it yourself, 'Why else would I come back?' but I didn't believe you. If I had listened to you, then-" Mulan cut him off._

"_Then what, Shang? You had every right to be angry and distrusting, and even if you had listened, then what would you have done? Stopped the parade to inspect every corner of the city? You wouldn't have been able to do anything even if you did believe me."_

"_I would have been more prepared to fight them," he retorted._

"_It is not a good thing to dwell on the past, Shang," Mulan said gently._

"_Mulan, that was only a short time ago! Even when we were fighting Shan Yu, I was beaten, leaving you to fight him off alone!" maintained Shang._

"_It is still considered in the past, and you couldn't help it if Shan Yu made you collapse; he hit your skull hard!" Mulan offered her hand to him. "I wouldn't have been able to defeat the Huns without you. Whatever you have done to me in the past is justified, and it doesn't bother me. We're friends now."_

_Shang took her hand, smiling._

"_Yes. We are."_

_Mulan sighed. "Now, was there anything else you wanted to get off your chest? You didn't follow me all the way from the Imperial City just to return my helmet, did you?" Shang flushed._

"_Oh, well, uh-"_

"_Mulan, are you nearly finished with the tour? It will get dark soon!" Mulan looked towards the house at the sound of her mother's voice. Shang looked away._

"_Uh, maybe I should go…" he mumbled._

"_Where will you be staying?"_

"_I-I'm sure that I'll find an inn or something." Shang nervously scratched the back of his neck._

_Mulan nodded her head. "Please come back again sometime."_

_They walked inside, and after thanking her parents for their hospitality, Shang took his horse and left to find someplace in town. For the next couple of days, Shang headed over to the Fa residence to spend time there, and at night he stayed at an inn across town._

_Though he became more acquainted with Mulan's family, eventually Shang was called back to the Imperial City. They would need all the soldiers they could get for now. Mulan stayed at home; she had a feeling that her parents wouldn't want their child to go back to war again so soon, especially after the abrupt way that she had left last time._

The days passed by, turning into weeks, then months. As she sat there, lost in thought, she wondered, what was she going to do now? She wasn't going to go to the Matchmaker, again. Was she going to stay home and tend to the farm? Would she try to find a job in town? Or would she go back to the army? Was the job that the Emperor offered to her still be available?

And what of her parents? If she left home again, then what would her family do? They were getting older, and later they wouldn't be able to care for the farm like they used to. Mulan sighed again.

"Girl, you've been doing a _lot_ of sighing here!" Mulan whipped her head around, looking for the owner of the voice. There, sitting up in the tree, was a small red dragon, and a blue cricket.

"Mushu!" The dragon jumped down the tree and landed on Mulan's head.

"Hey girl, didja miss me?" Mulan raised her eyebrow.

"Where've you been all this time?" A grin was plastered on her face.

"First Ancestor Fa thought that it would be good to put me to sleep after we came home," Mushu deepened his voice, "He said 'Mushu, if you give me a headache, I can't imagine how much you bother Mulan! Give her a break before seeing her again-it will give her time to recover from the migraine that you must have given her!' Mushu switched his voice to normal. "He probably just wanted to get me out of his hair!"

Mushu sat on one shoulder, and Cri-Kee perched on the other. "But enough about me, girl, I saw you sighing here all by yourself-what have you been thinking about? Oh, wait, lemme guess, you were thinking about," Mushu gave a dramatic sigh, and said this in a high voice, "Shang."

Mulan turned a small shade of pink, causing Mushu to keep on teasing her.

"Oh, Shang, I just can't wait to see you again!"

"That is _not_ what I was thinking about!" Mulan's blush grew redder.

"Then what has you sighing all over the Fa family garden, huh?"

Mulan looked at her house. "I was thinking about what I would do; now that I'm not in the army anymore."

Cri-Kee chirped something to Mushu.

"Yeah, Mulan, why don't you just go back into the army again?"

She shook her head. "I don't think they would want to see their only daughter leave for war, again. It's only been three months. Last time I didn't even leave a note or anything. If I leave, then who would take care of the farm when my parents get old?"

"Well, technically, since you don't got no other family to take this land, wouldn't it fall onto you?"

"I don't know Mushu," Mulan sighed.

Mushu frowned. "Girl, will you stop sighing already? You're bringing me down! And I'm the life of the party!" Cri-Kee gave a chirp, in protest.

"Hey, I am so the life of the party! If it weren't for me, Mulan would be like this until the sun went down!"

Chirp.

"_You_? You ain't the one to keep everyone happy!"

Chirp. Chirp.

"Well, you know what? I don't care what the Great Ancestor of the Fa family says! You don't see Mulan getting a headache! Great Ancestor Fa is just a bitter old man!"

Mulan laughed. "I can always count on you two to cheer me up, can't I?"

"Mulan?" Mulan twisted her head, and rested her eyes upon an aging man in blue robes. A cane was positioned in his right hand, and he walked with a limp. She heard Mushu and Cri-Kee climb up the tree behind her.

"Mulan, who were you talking to?" the older man asked.

"I wasn't talking to anyone, Baba," she answered.

Fa Zhou slowly moved over to the bench, and took a seat beside Mulan.

"It was only a couple of months ago, wasn't it?" she looked at him in confusion.

"When we sat here after you went to the Matchmaker." Her head nodded. The last time that they sat here together was right before he was conscripted for war.

"You always come here when you have something to think about." Fa Zhou turned to look at his daughter. "Tell me, Mulan, what is on your mind?"

She gazed at her lap. "It's nothing father."

Fa Zhou persisted. "Mulan, you may have been able to trick everyone in the army that you were a man, but that doesn't mean that you can fool your own father."

"I, I was thinking about what I would do now that I am home," her voice came out softly. "Now that I'm home from war, what am I going to do? Should I find a job, and support our family from there? Or just tend to the farm like I was? I can't leave you, Mama, and Grandmother here alone!"

Her father let out a small chuckle. "Mulan, you aren't an average girl."

She smiled. "I think that we both already knew that, Baba."

"Then you should know that there is always the option to enlist in the army again." Her eyes widened.

"But Baba, what about you and Mama-"

"We are perfectly fine here," he interrupted. "The money that we have is enough to sustain us for a while."

"Then what, Baba? When that money runs out-"

"I'm not too old to work, Mulan," he insisted.

"But your injury-"

"It is not so bad that I cannot find a way to work." He turned his face away for a moment, then brought it back, with a firm look in his eyes. "Mulan, I am not trying to force you to do anything. You are a strong, independent woman. You shouldn't let us hinder you. If you want to go to war and fight, then go. If you choose to stay, then do so. Don't let the thought of us hinder your progress in life."

Mulan looked at her father with determination. "No, Baba. I need to find a way to support this family. I can't leave and have you take care of Mama and Grandmother by yourself. I need to take care of you, Mama, and Grandmother."

Fa Zhou shook his head. Sometimes his daughter could be so very stubborn.

'She takes after her father…' he thought.

"It's your decision Mulan. Whatever you choose in life, we won't try to hold you back."

With that, he stood up and left, leaving Mulan to ponder his words.

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A/N:

Hey there! I got the second (technically the first) chapter up now! When I was writing this, I was thinking of putting a little Mulan and Shang romance on the side. And that's how I got them being teased by those around them.I ask of you to please ignore the second film! This story is taking place 3 months after the first movie, and I wanted to write this without the influence of the second movie.

Please tell me what you think! If you have any questions on what is going on so far (I know that I'm not very good, and it might be a little confusing), feel free to ask me a question! Thanks for reading another chapter!


	3. Chapter 2

**Prisoner of War**

Disclaimer: I do not own Mulan.

Chapter 2

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"Captain, are we there yet?"

"No, Ling, we aren't there yet." Shang didn't bother with looking back. This was the third time that Ling had asked that question.

"Well, do ya know how close we are?" asked Yao. "Do ya even remember where her house is?"

"Of course I remember where it is!" snapped Shang.

Shang let out a groan. Why did he bring these three along again? Oh yeah, it was to surprise Mulan. Damn. It would have make things so much easier if he had just left them with the others. It wasn't as if the three were bad people; they were just hard to handle!

"It seems like someone woke up on the wrong side of the tent this morning," Ling murmured to his friend.

"Naw, I think he's just cranky that he can't spend some time, alone, with Mulan." His face heated up, and Shang was almost sure that he could feel a smirk Yao's face.

Chien-Po decided to intervene. "Guys, we shouldn't talk about Captain Li like that. He is our commanding officer, and our friend." It seemed that he was the only one who would come to Shang's aid.

"Well, it's true," Yao grunted.

Smack!

"Hey, what was that for?" Yao rubbed the back of his head.

"Shut up, or else he'll give us laps when we get there!" Ling made an attempt to cover Yao's mouth. Yao dodged, and kept talking.

"He can't give us laps at Mulan's house, ya bone head!" retorted Yao.

"No, but he can when we get to Wu Zhong!"

Smack!

"Ow!"

"That's what you get for hitting me earlier!"

"You jerk! I oughtta sock you in the face!"

"I'd like to see you try!"

"Bring it on, shorty!"

"You first, ya twig!"

Shang hit his forehead with the palm of his hand. Seriously, why was he doing this again? Can't he just leave these three here? He turned around briefly and caught sight of Chien-Po attempting to separate Yao and Ling. Punches were thrown wildly; hardly any of them made contact.

"Why me?" Shang moaned, and turned around. He rode in front of the small dust cloud forming, and yelled for them to stop.

"Soldiers!"

Yao and Ling paused, their fists still in the air. Shang cleared his throat, and all three of them snapped to attention.

"You three are soldiers of the Imperial Army!" he looked down, giving each of them a hard glare. "You can't go around disgracing you and me by fighting with _each other_!" Shang paused here to look at Yao and Ling. "If I catch you two fighting again, then I'll make you run laps until next week!"

He rode his horse away, leaving the three soldiers in the dust. It took them a couple of minutes for them to catch up to his horse. Once they were at a comfortable pace, Shang heard Ling whisper in Yao's ear.

"Doesn't he know that we are only joking? Geez, what's with him, being all up tight today?"

Yao turned to Ling. "I don't know, but I think we still gots a ways to go before we get there."

Shang let out an exasperated sigh. They had a_ long_ way to go…

* * *

Khan gave a small neigh as she walked up.

"Hey, Khan. It seems that someone is in a good mood today!" Khan whinnied in agreement. She patted him on his neck, then picked up the large brush, and began to brush him down.

Mulan was glad that her chores were meant to be done outside today. Even if she still had a lot of things to do, she didn't mind. As long as she could complete the tasks outdoors, then she'd be alright. She ran through a mental list of her chores.

'Little Brother is feeding the chickens, and I already checked for eggs…I'm brushing Khan down right now…Was there anything else I had to do?…I think I just have to go to the market after this.'

She let out a breath as she passed the brush over Khan once more.

"Done!" Khan neighed, happy that his coat was now smooth and shiny.

Mulan gave him another pat, then walked into the house.

"I'll be right back, okay?"

Mulan strode in to the house, and spotted her mother and father at the table, drinking tea.

"Mama, where is the list of items that you need from the market?" Mulan asked patiently. Fa Li reached into the sash around her waist and drew out a small folded piece of paper.

"Now, don't take too long, Mulan," her mother chided. "We need these ingredients for dinner soon."

"Yes, Mama." As she walked back to the fence, she unfolded the list, studying its contents. It was a pretty long, she thought, as she made her way to Khan. Oh well, a long list meant either less trips to the market, or that they were having visitors. Khan gave her a peculiar look, as if asking, _Am I going with you, or not?_

Mulan chuckled. "No, Khan, you aren't coming with me. It's a big list, but I won't need your help this time." Khan snorted in frustration. Apparently he didn't want to be kept behind his fence all day.

"Alright, alright. Sometime soon I will take you out for a ride. Does that sound fair?" Khan whinnied, giving Mulan a sign of approval. She picked up the brush that she had left on the fence, and walked back to the house. She put the brush away and grabbed the bag that she used for going to the market. Her mother called out to her as she was leaving.

"Don't forget to buy chicken! We need it for dinner!" she yelled. Mulan gave a small nod as she left in a hurry. Fa Li let out an irritated sigh.

'She's going to forget the chicken…'

* * *

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Shang took a deep breath. The four of them were standing outside the gate, waiting for it to open.

Yao looked over at Shang, and subtly turned to Ling.

"Hey, Ling," he whispered, "I think Pretty Boy here is nervous."

Ling gave a silent chuckle. "Of course he's nervous. He hasn't seen her in three months, and I bet that he's been thinking about her non-stop!"

"Captain Li probably misses her," Chien-Po said, thoughtfully. "He seemed anxious all the way over here."

As the conversation carried on, Shang found himself, not only agreeing with what was mostly true, but that his face was turning the same color as the red of his cape.

The gate opened, revealing an older man walking with a cane.

"Captain Li, what a surprise! Please, come in," he beckoned Shang and the others to come inside. "Who might these three be?"

"It is good to see you again, sir. I'd like you to meet some of Mulan's friends, Yao, Ling, and Chien-Po." Shang paused in between each one, making a small gesture as to who was who. "Yao, Ling, Chien-Po, this is Mulan's father, the Honorable Fa Zhou." Shang was surprised to see that each of them had bent over in a small bow.

Fa Zhou nodded. "It is a pleasure to meet you all. Please come inside, and have some tea."

He lead them inside, and sat them down at the table where Shang ate last time he was at the Fa residence. Yao, Ling, and Chien-Po looked around the house and Fa Zhou gestured for them to sit.

Fa Li soon came in, carrying a pot of tea, and multiple cups.

"I'm sorry, but you just missed Mulan. She has gone to the market to buy supplies for dinner," she told them. "She shouldn't take too long though."

* * *

Mulan gazed upon the crowded street. There were outdoor stalls lined up and down the road, selling vegetables, farmed goods, fish, spices, and more. Merchants wandered through, carrying their goods and placing them out for show. Many people could be seen browsing the merchandise, and haggling down to lower prices.

Mulan looked at the list again. The first things she needed were some spices. She glanced around at the stalls, searching for the right one. After roughly scanning the street, she found the stall that she usually went to; the one with an old man selling produce. She haggled, and managed to get what was needed for a reasonable price. Mulan continued to haggle and purchase items until she was almost finished with her list. Now, the only thing left was…

"Ah! Long time no see!"

Mulan was broken from her reverie by a young, masculine voice. She turned to see who had called her, and found that she was looking across the street at a young man, a couple of years older than her, behind a booth selling fish. He had no beard or mustache, his head hair was tied up in the usual way, and he wore an apron over his clothes. She walked over to his booth, with a bewildered expression on her face.

"I'm sorry," said Mulan. "Do I…know you from somewhere?"

The young man gave a small laugh. "You probably don't."

Who was this person? She never met him before, so how did he know her?

"Sorry. My name is Liang Dong, and I'm a regular fish merchant here." He offered his hand to Mulan. She hesitantly shook his hand, confusion still shown in her face.

Dong chuckled. "You have every right to be confused. When I first started to sell my merchandise, then I thought it would be a good idea to get to know the people who shop and sell things here. I thought it would help me with sales."

"I soon became familiar with the faces around here, and started recognizing people. After a while, I noticed that you buy things around here too. You've never bought my fish, though." He rubbed the back of his neck, and looked away in embarrassment.

"I always see you buying things from that old man down there." He paused for a minute to point out the old man that she bought spice from earlier.

"And that lady down there." He gestured to a middle aged woman selling fruit.

Mulan was puzzled. 'How long has this guy been watching me buy things from the market? And how did I not notice him before? I should learn how to check my surroundings better…'

"You stopped coming around four months ago." Dong paused for a second here, trying to think of a way to ask his question. "Where've you been?"

Mulan raised an eyebrow at him, and he turned a deep shade of red.

"N-n-not th-that I need to know or anything, I-I was just curious, y-you know?" She laughed inwardly as he continued to stammer.

"Let's just say that I've been on a trip for a few months," she answered. Mulan turned to the side, and eyed one of the fish on display. "How much for this fish?"

Dong slowly regained confidence in his speaking abilities as she changed the subject. "That one? Uh, that fish…y-you can have that fish for free!"

"Really? Thank you." Mulan flashed him a smile, and he wrapped the fish before handing it to her. "Hold on a minute, how do you get a profit if you give the first fish free?"

"Oh, well, you can just let me worry about that!" He laughed it off, avoiding the subject.

"Alright then…" Mulan turned around and was about to walk away, when he called out to her again.

"Wait!" She faced him; Dong was leaning out of his stand.

"I never did get your name…"

Mulan walked in front of Dong, and held out her hand.

"My name is Fa Mulan."

His eyes widened out of shock, and then he shook her hand with a grin plastered on his face. "Nice to meet you!"

Mulan gave him a smile, then turned around and proceeded to walk home.

* * *

Shang looked suspiciously at Ling. They had all been relatively quiet-not rude-just quiet, throughout the forty-five minutes they have been here. And when you see them quiet, you should know that they are up to something. If you didn't, then it might come back to haunt you later. They had talked to Fa Zhou and Fa Li only when prompted, not more, and kept giving the others a look with mischief in their eyes.

Fa Zhou sipped his tea.

"I remember my time in the army. While the battles that I fought weren't exactly pleasant, I always had a good time being around my comrades; there was never a dull moment. Tell me, do you three have any exciting stories to tell?" he asked, with a smile on his face.

"Yeah…I remember our first day at camp," snorted Yao. "Rice was spilled all over the ground, and almost everyone there was beating the person next to him into the dirt!"

"I still haven't found those teeth that you knocked out…" Ling grimaced. Chien-Po and Shang laughed at the memory.

A small "Oh my" came from Fa Li's mouth. Fa Zhou chuckled. "It seems that your lives in the army are much more colorful than mine."

"Oh, no, sir," Chien-Po protested. "While yours was probably decorated with achievements and awards, ours is more…" he trailed off, trying to find the right word.

He never got the chance to finish, because the sound of the gate closing sounded through the house. A moment later, a girl in a blue dress, carrying a rather large bag on her shoulder walked inside. Her hair was of medium length, and it framed her surprised face.

"Mulan!" The four soldiers got up from their seats to greet her.

"Hey, guys! What are you doing here?" asked Mulan, her mouth quickly changing from a surprised frown to a wide grin.

Ling slapped her on the back. "What? We can't visit our good friend without being questioned? You're the one who told us to visit!"

"You could've told me you guys were coming!" she laughed.

"Naww!" said Yao. "Where's the fun in that?"

Fa Li watched on with a smile as her daughter interacted with her friends. It was nice to see her happy around friends. But…where in the world did Mulan pick up friends these…_peculiar_? They were polite, but they certainly didn't follow the conventional rules of society. Then again, her daughter wasn't exactly _conventional_, either.

She turned to her husband and noted the light in his eyes. She gave a small sigh, and cleared her throat, asking Mulan for her attention.

"Mulan, did you get everything on the list?"

"Yes, Mama, I got everything from the market." She handed the bag to her mother. She opened it, and gave her a questioning look.

"What's wrong?" asked Mulan.

Fa Li shook her head dissaprovingly.

Mulan was dumbfounded. "What?"

"Mulan," prompted Fa Li. "I asked you to get _chicken_. We need _chicken_ tonight for dinner."

"But, I thought that you wanted me to get fish," protested Mulan.

"I didn't write fish on the list." Her mother sighed. "I know that I didn't write chicken on the list, but I told you to buy some as you were leaving the house." She shook her head. "What gave you the idea to buy a fish anyways?"

"When I went to the market, I met a man named Liang Dong," explained Mulan. Her head tilted to the side and her arms crossed in thought. "We talked for a bit, I asked him how much that fish was, and he let me have it for free."

"Well, we'll just have to make do with this fish then."

Shang seethed. Who did this guy think he was? Giving Mulan free fish…Bah!

'_Don't be angry that she's getting attention_,' a small voice in his head told him.

'What? What are you talking about!' he argued.

'_I'm talking about the fact that you are jealous,' _the voice said in a mocking tone.

'I am not jealous!'

'_Yes, you are. You're jealous that she is getting attention from someone_.'

'That is not true!'

'_Yeah, right_,' it said sarcastically. '_That would be like saying that she's some helpless damsel in distress, waiting for someone to rescue her!_'

'…Mulan may not be a damsel, but she is someone important.' At this point Shang realized how much people would thing he was going insane if they found out he was arguing with himself. 'But why would someone she just met on the street give her a free fish?' Suddenly, he was hit with a revelation.

"Mulan…" said Shang. "Can I talk to you? In private?"

Everyone stopped talking, and looked at him. Her eyes came into contact with his, and stood up. "Alright."

Mulan excused them from the room, and lead Shang out through the garden, until the pair stood on the white bridge over the water. She cast a glance off to the side, and found the empty space that once held the stone dragon statue.

"Well, what did you want to talk about Shang?"

"Mulan," he said slowly, "how did you say that you got that fish again?"

She looked at him strangely. "I got it free from a nice guy in the market. Why do you ask?"

"I need you to keep this a secret, alright?" he spoke softly, and waited for her to nod before continuing. "It was three months ago that you killed Shan-Yu and his army, wasn't it?" She nodded.

"How exactly do people treat you now?" Mulan gave him a questioning look.

"They treat me just fine. Why do you ask?"

"There are some people who may not agree with the Emperor's decision to honor you," Shan looked at his hands for a minute. "Even if you did save all their lives," he added.

Mulan nodded. She had seen the ways that some of the townsfolk looked at her. They would see her around, and whisper to the people around them. No doubt that they were about her. It wasn't everyone who did that, and everyone would usually be nice and polite to her. But she knew that much of the recognition that she received was forced. That many people didn't share the same views as the Emperor, or her father.

"I know," she said quietly. "I try to just ignore the ones who are like that."

"Then you should know that there are some people out there who would want to get you."

She gave him a confused look. "What are you getting at?"

"Mulan, there are a lot of people in the Middle Kingdom who think that you are inferior, because you are a woman," Shang paused for a moment to check that he didn't offend her in any way. When she didn't get mad, he continued. "That doesn't mean everyone, but there are still people who have the same ideals as Chi Fu."

Although she hadn't thought about it much, it bothered her to think that there were people in the world who were just like Chi Fu. She shuddered. "But what does this have to do with me being at the market?"

"Promise me that you won't tell anyone about this?" She nodded. "A couple of days ago, when we were about to leave the Imperial City, we had received a message from the general in command of the rest of the troops. In his message, he mentioned a soldier of his who had gone missing."

"Missing?"

"Yes," he confirmed. "A day or so later, after we had left, we found the soldier's body on the side of a forest road. He had various wounds all around his body, including cuts, bruises, and burns. We also found signs of binding on his hands and feet. The deathblow was a stab wound to his chest."

His face was grim. "We searched around the area and found a small, recently used campsite."

"Did you manage to find any suspects?" Mulan's brows furrowed.

"We didn't find anyone, and, thankfully, we didn't find any more victims." Mulan let out a relieved sigh.

He cleared his throat. "It doesn't change the fact of how bad the situation is though. We don't know who these people are, what their motive is, or who, if any, is their next target. Their last victim suffered; he must have been tortured for information of some sort."

"Yes," she said thoughtfully, "that would explain the marks all over his body. But what does this have to do with Liang Dong?"

Shang was frustrated. She still didn't get it.

He stepped closer and lowered his voice to a barely audible whisper. "Mulan, even though the Huns are gone, this is still an edgy time for China. There could be enemies anywhere; just waiting for a chance to bring down the Emperor, and end this dynasty.

The man who gave you the fish, Liang Dong, might be working with any potential enemies, including the people who tortured that soldier to death. He could have poisoned the fish he gave you just as easily as I could kiss you right now!"

He reddened immediately after he said it. "I-I didn't mean anything by that, really, I-I just…trying to prove a point, uh…we're standing really close here…and you would probably punch me in the face before I would be able to do anything…ha ha…and kick me in the-" he was rambling, and avoided eye contact.

Mulan wasn't listening. Surely Shang was just being paranoid? Dong didn't seem like someone suspicious! He seemed nice! But…what he had said about her shopping in the market-going to the old man's and the middle aged woman's stand, not coming for four months- had been true. Was he telling the truth about just becoming 'familiar' with customers?

"Shang."

He stopped rambling. "Huh?"

"We should go back inside." Mulan glanced around cautiously.

"Oh, right," mumbled Shang dejectedly and sighed. 'Great, just great,' he thought. Now he had just made a fool of himself in front of her. Now she probably thought that he was a bumbling idiot. And this isn't the first time this has happened either! Why was it so hard to talk to her?

Mulan watched him carefully as they walked back inside. His posture was slumped, and he had a depressing look on his face. "Is there something wrong?"

"Huh?"

"Are you okay? You seem a bit down."

"What? Oh, no, I'm alright, I guess." his face perked up. Maybe she didn't hear him? "Uh…did you hear me correctly earlier? You know, about that guy?"

"Yes. You said that Dong could be working with potential enemies," said Mulan. "Did I miss something?"

Shang breathed a sigh of relief. So she hadn't heard him after all.

"No. Let's just go inside."

Ling lifted up his head as they walked inside. "What took so long?"

"Shang was informing me on what's been happening in the Imperial City," answered Mulan, not noticing the small pink color in the Captain's face. She looked around the room, and noticed that her mother and grandmother weren't there. "Baba, where is Mama and Grandma?"

Fa Zhou gestured to the kitchen. She left the room, and found her mother and grandmother attempting to prepare the fish for cooking. A kitchen knife was poised in her hand.

"Mama, don't cook that fish!" her mother looked at her strangely, silently asking Mulan for an explanation. "Uh…we don't know where that fish has been!"

"It's been at the market, hasn't it?"

"Well, yes, but, who knows what that guy at the market did with it?" Mulan asked. Her mother raised an eyebrow. "Something could've happened to the fish, and that could be why he gave it to me for free!"

She set down the knife in her hand. "Mulan, but if we aren't going to have fish for dinner, then I'll need you to go get me the chicken that I asked you to get earlier."

"Mama, why do I have to get a chicken from the market? Wouldn't a hen that we have here be alright?"

Fa Li rubbed her forehead. "Mulan, our chickens aren't meant to be slaughtered. We need them for their eggs!"

Mulan let out a sigh, defeated. "Alright, Mama, I'll go back to the market."

She moved out of the kitchen and into the other room, to find her father and Shang in a discussion about the current events in the Imperial City, and that Yao, Ling, and Chien-Po were sitting quietly to the side, listening in, but providing no feedback.

Mulan grabbed the bag left on the table, and said, "I need to go back to the market; I forgot to get something."

"Alright," replied her father.

Shang stood up, and asked, "Sir, would it be reasonable if my men and I were to accompany Mulan?"

Fa Zhou nodded. "Yes, that would be fine."

"Thank you sir."

He watched as Yao, Ling and Chien-Po followed Shang and his daughter out the door.

* * *

"So, watcha been up to?" asked Yao, as they walked down the road.

"Actually, I haven't been up to much lately," mused Mulan. "I've been living my life the same way it was before I left. What about you? Have you guys been up to anything?"

"…I went to the Matchmaker recently…" mumbled Ling, hesitantly.

"Really? Did you find someone for you?"

"No." Ling sighed. "They were nice and all, but I didn't find anyone that would work."

Chien-Po tried to comfort him. "Don't worry, Ling, you'll find someone."

"Easy for you to say! Have any of you been to the Matchmaker before?" questioned Ling.

Yao frowned. "Nope."

"No," said Chien-Po.

Shang shook his head. "I've been offered, but I declined."

"What?" Ling's face was in shock. "Why?"

"As someone from a military lineage, I've actually gotten quite a few." Shang took a subtle glance at Mulan. "None of them would've worked for me, though." Looking at her again, he quietly wondered if she had ever been to the Matchmaker. He hoped not.

"Hey, Mulan," Yao looked up at her. "Why are we going to the market again? Didn't you just come back?"

"I need to buy a chicken," was her reply.

"I thought that guy just gave you a free fish?"

"Well," she said, as they entered the marketplace. "I'm just a little suspicious of men who unexpectedly give me free fish."

If Mulan expected some sort of reply, she didn't get one. All four of them seemed to be concentrating on something across the way.

"Uh, guys?" Mulan tried to get their attention. She waved her hand in front of Shang's face. "What are you guys staring at?"

He snapped back out of his daze. "Huh?"

"I asked what you guys were staring at," she said patiently.

Shang flushed, and avoided eye contact, "Oh-well-uh-"

She moved to stand next to Yao, and looked across the street. A handful of girls were in front of a building, their faces painted white, dressed in beautiful gowns, and a parasol in each woman's hands. A large woman burst out of the door, and read a name off her board. A girl stepped forward, and nervously followed her into the building.

Mulan turned to the stumbling Captain to her left.

"Shang, please make sure that these three don't get run over by a horse drawn cart, or something," she sighed.

Before he could say anything, she looked both ways, and crossed the street to the market for the second time that day.

* * *

"Five coins."

"Ten coins."

"Six coins."

"Ten coins."

"Seven coins?"

"Ten coins; I will not bring the price down."

Mulan frowned. What is with this guy? Doesn't he know that ten coins was a lot of money for a chicken?

"How can you charge ten coins for one chicken?" protested Mulan. "That's too expensive!"

"Take it or leave it. If you aren't going to buy it, then I would appreciate it if you would move out of the way; I have other customers to attend to," he snapped. He turned to face another customer as she walked away. "Dong, what are you doing at my stall? Shouldn't you be concentrating on selling _your_ wares?"

Mulan looked at the customer. It was Liang Dong.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm on a break. My brother is running the sales until I go back."

"Well, what can I do for ya?"

Dong pointed to a chicken. "I'll give you five coins for that chicken."

The salesman smiled at him. "Normally I don't barter, but for you, no problem!"

Mulan fumed as they exchanged items. How could he refuse to bargain with her, yet give Dong a chicken for half price? Once the chicken salesman turned his back on him, he jogged over to where Mulan was standing. He held out the chicken and grinned.

"That will be five coins, please."

"How did you get him to negotiate with you?" Mulan asked, her mouth open.

Dong rubbed the back of his neck again, and she noticed that it seemed to be a habit of his.

"He usually doesn't barter…but he's a friend of the family, so he'll give us discounts on his merchandise sometimes…you know, when we don't feel like having fish," Dong said. He held out the chicken, and Mulan took it, replacing it with the small amount of coins.

"Well then, thank you for the discount," she chuckled. "I greatly appreciate it."

He looked away and smiled nervously. "Ah-he he he-no problem!" Dong fidgeted, and tried to change the subject. "Uh…so what are you doing here again? I saw you just earlier today!"

Mulan lifted the chicken to his eye level. "I forgot to get a chicken earlier, so I was sent back to get it."

"Yes, well, even though it's costly, he does sell good chicken." He laughed a bit, and tried to avoid eye contact with her.

"Hmmm, I suppose that means that I owe you for the fish _and_ the chicken now," she said. Mulan watched him react, and while he might've been acting suspiciously, she doubted that he could be working with the 'enemy'.

He gave a nervous laugh. "Oh, well, it's really not a problem, it's just one fish among many-ha ha."

"But, it is," Mulan continued. "It's not often that one receives a free fish. Thank you."

"No, really, it was nothing!" Dong brought his hands up and shook them in disagreement. He had turned a small shade of red.

On the other side of the road, Liang Dong wasn't the only one to be turning red. Shang silently observed this exchange from across the street, seething.

"Wat'cha starin' at?" Ling looked curiously over his shoulder, startling Shang.

Yao caught sight of Mulan talking to Dong. "You jealous Pretty Boy?"

"No!" Shang yelled. A couple of people turned their heads, and he lowered his voice. "I am not jealous!"

"Then why are you is your face red?" Yao and Ling laughed as they saw Shang turn a strange maroon color.

He tried furiously to suppress the color from spreading across his cheeks. "Why would I be jealous of a fish merchant?"

Yao and Ling gave the man in question a curious look. "So is that the guy who gave her that fish?"

"I guess," Shang grumbled.

Mulan waved good bye as she crossed the street, and upon noticing her friends back to normal, she picked up the pace.

"That was nice of him," she said.

"Done gawking at the girls?" she asked. They fell into step with her and walked back to the house.

Shang flushed, and looked away, ashamed. 'She's probably mad now…'

Yao looked back over his shoulder. "Ha, ha, very funny," he said. "We aren't the only ones looking at girls either!"

Mulan raised her eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

He smirked, and jerked his thumb behind them. "I think that your fish merchant friend likes you."

They all turned their heads back to the market to find Liang Dong staring at them from across the street. More precisely, China's heroine. She waved awkwardly at him, and he finally realized that he had been caught staring. He sheepishly waved back, and walked back to this stall with a dark red color splashed all over his face.

* * *

Mulan stood to the side as Shang mounted his horse. Once he was on, all four of them ambled over to her.

"Are you sure that you four won't stay for a little while longer?" she asked.

"As much as we would love to, that wouldn't be a very good idea," Shang looked at her apologetically. "I was only permitted a short amount of time away from the rest of the troops, and I'll get in trouble if I ignore my duties."

He pointed to the sky. "If we leave now, then we will probably reach Wu Zhong in a couple of hours, and arrive there at sundown."

"I see," she uttered, disappointment in her voice. However, it wasn't unnoticeable, as the gang of three saw, and tried to change the subject.

"Hey, Mulan," Yao turned to look at her, despite the obvious height difference. "When are ya going to join the army again?"

Ling agreed. "Yeah! It's just not the same when someone's missing from the group!"

This made Mulan smile. It felt nice to know that despite the fact that they have only known her for a brief while-and mostly as Ping-that she was fully accepted as their friend, and that she would be missed.

"I don't know." Her words grew solemn. "I would love to be out there, fighting alongside you, but I think that my place right now is here." She glanced back over her shoulder. "My parents are aging, and with my father's injury…I'm not exactly sure how well they would fare without me here."

"So, you won't be coming with us?" asked Ling.

"I'm afraid not," she said. "And I didn't even manage to say goodbye last time; I don't think that they would want me to leave for war again so soon."

Chien-Po placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "We understand. It will be different without you around, but, we'll find a way to manage."

She gave them a sad smile, and pulled them into a hug. As she pulled away, Mulan gave them a stern look. "You all better not go dying on me! You better come back and visit sometime."

"That's a deal!" cried Yao. Mulan laughed. She walked over to where Shang's horse was standing.

"Well?" she asked.

"Huh?"

"Aren't you going to say goodbye?"

"What?"

"You never did say goodbye at the palace."

Shang didn't know what to do. He stammered, and could feel the blood rushing up to his face. Shang looked away from Mulan, and to the gang of three, silently asking for help. He saw Yao and Ling mouth something to him frantically, to which Chien-Po nodded in agreement.

_Don't be stupid, Pretty Boy, hug her!_

"OH!" He dismounted his horse, and pulled Mulan into a quick embrace. He felt himself enjoying the moment immensely, and that he was a little sad when she pulled away, taking the warmth of the hug with her.

"That goes for you too. We can't have Captain Li dying on us." She smiled.

Shang gave her a mock salute. "Yes sir!"

He mounted back on his horse, and the four of them began walking towards Wu Zhong. They turned around again one last time and waved before pressing forward.

As she waved back at them, she felt a hand rest on her shoulder. She looked to see her father standing next to her.

"It's not too late to go with them, Mulan," he said. She shook her head, and watched their backs move away in the distance with a sad smile.

"No, I'll be fine here, Baba."

* * *

**A/N**: Wow! This came out longer than I expected…Oh, well! That's a good thing in this case! Okay…there might be a couple of things that you might be wondering, so now would be the time to address them…

-First off, thank you everyone who read, reviewed, etc.! You've all made me very happy =D

-Second, Liang Dong _**is**_ relevant to the story…I'm not going to say how, but I do have plans for him to become an important person. You'll just have to guess who he is, and what he does, at least until a while later. (Sorry =P)

-Next, I don't actually know how much the money they used during that time was worth, so I really don't know how much things cost (ex. the chicken Mulan bought). Please bear with me on this...for now, I made one chicken worth ten coins (at least to the merchant at that shop).

This is not turning into a romance story, and I haven't forgotten about the main focus. It will really get started next chapter, for which I am happy about. Again, thank you all for reading, reviewing, etc. Your comments and suggestions have all been taken into consideration, and thanks for the great ideas! Please continue to read, review, etc, and leave feedback. **Thanks for reading another chapter!**


	4. Chapter 3

**Prisoner of War**

Disclaimer: I do not own Mulan.

*=Refer to Author Note.

Chapter 3

_

* * *

_

The air was cold on her face. Mulan opened her eyes, and was greeted with the sight of tents. Four tents were situated in a square formation, one in each of the figure's corners. In the center of the outlined shape was a small fire, surrounded by a couple of men. She was situated to the side, their backs turned toward her.

_Mulan tried in vain to move her arms. After struggling for a while, she stopped. They were tied behind her, and they obviously weren't going to move for a while. Why was she here, anyways? She looked back to the fire, its orange glow the only source of light there was. Her eyes widened at what happened next._

_A boy, who couldn't have been a bit over thirteen, came out of the shadows. He was dragging a bound man out with him, but that wasn't what caught her attention. She almost gasped out loud in surprise; he had no face._

_The boy brought the captive to one of the men around the fire. He placed the man in front of the fire and moved away to stand next to her on the ground. Mulan turned to look up at him from where she was lying. The faceless boy glanced down at her, and she noticed that he had-somewhere between the fire and his place now-grown eyes. Dull, lifeless eyes; eyes without hope._

_She twisted her eyes back on the scene unfolding in front of the fire. One of the men in front of the fire stood up, and Mulan saw his mouth move, but she couldn't hear his words. The man who was standing kicked his prisoner in the gut. He asked again. He was yelling, but she couldn't hear what he was saying. The man snapped his fingers above his head, and the boy ran from his spot beside her into one of the tents. He came out holding something in his hands, and ran over to place it in the captor's outstretched hand. The boy turned the man on his stomach, and ran out of the way._

_He reached his hand behind him, and flicked it onto the captive's back. Mulan watched as the man continued to be whipped in front of the fire. Eventually, the whippings stopped, and the prisoner was left on the dirt. He muttered something, and the one holding the whip smiled menacingly in the firelight. The man holding the whip walked around to the prisoner's head, and wrapped it around the man's neck._

_She looked away._

_Crack._

_As frightened as she was, Mulan faced front. The prisoner was lying limp on the ground, his body, dead and forgotten. Before she could register what was going on, his executioner snapped his head in her direction. He trudged toward her with heavy footsteps. She heard a voice that sent chills down her spine._

_Fa Mulan, you are next._

_She tried again to move her limbs, but it was no use._

_Fa Mulan._

_Her ties around her limbs were getting tighter the more that she resisted._

_Mulan!_

_She tried harder to break free from her bonds. The fire in the middle of the campsite burnt out. Her surroundings were consumed by the darkness. She looked up to catch one last glimpse of her killer before she died…_

"MULAN!"

She shot up from her bed. What had happened? Mulan glanced around at her surroundings. She breathed a sigh of relief. She gazed out the window. The sun was just beginning to rise. So it was just a dream. Then she looked around again, searching for the owner of the voice that woke her up.

"Down here, sleeping beauty!"

Mulan swiftly turned her head down, to find a small red dragon and a blue and purple cricket sitting on her lap.

"Mushu?"

"Who else did ya think it'd be?" he asked.

"Mushu, what are you doing here?" Mulan rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

"I'm here to give you your wakeup call!" said the dragon, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"What?"

"Actually, I sent the Lucky Bug here as your wakeup call," he gave Cri-Kee a shove with his foot, "but he came back saying that you were having a fit in your sleep. So here I am; your guardian dragon is here to the rescue!" It took her a minute to register what he was saying. After a minute or two, she broke out into a grin.

"Thanks you two."

He nodded in approval and crossed his arms. He twirled a claw around one of the feelers on the side of his nose*.

"Girl, you sleep like a log! Do you know how long it took us to wake you up? Man, you're lucky I didn't wake up everyone in the house!" Mulan sat there and watched the little dragon pace back and forth.

"What were you dreaming about anyways?"

Images from her nightmare flashed in her mind. The man with the whip ready to strike, the boy with near lifeless eyes, and the man being tortured. A chill passed down her spine, and she put her head in her hands.

"Mushu," she mumbled. "Can we not talk about this now?"

He nodded. "That's fine. Cri-Kee and I just wanna make sure that you're alright." Cri-Kee nodded.

"Thank you." Mulan sighed. She got up from her sitting position and put on work clothes. "Well, if I'm up, then I might as well get some stuff done."

"That's the spirit!"

Mulan walked, with Mushu and Cri-Kee at her heels, out of the house. As she passed by her parents' room, she looked in and saw both of their sleeping forms lying next to each other. Mulan tiptoed past their room, and looked in Grandma Fa's room. She was sleeping soundly as well.

After making sure that everyone was asleep, Mulan went into a small shed to the side of the house, and pulled out a rake. With the tool over her shoulder, she closed the shed door and moved out to the fields behind her home.

She searched for an empty, wide open space, checking that nothing was in the way. Once Mulan had found a comfortable spot, she closed her eyes, and held the rake firmly. As she stood there with her eyes shut, an imaginary shape formed before her. It continued to shape, until it took the form of a man, standing erect in front of her, with a staff held firmly in his hand.

Mulan stepped back, the figure mirroring her movements. They both took their respective stances, circling around each other, waiting to see who would make the first move.

The figure lashed out. He swung the staff towards her with great speed. She almost wasn't able to block, nearly causing her to break her posture. Mulan kept moving, spinning around to attack from his open side. The figure stepped away in time, leaving the only the air to feel the blow of her attack.

Blows were exchanged back and forth as Mulan continued to fight with this imaginary adversary. He was fast, he left almost no room for her to block. One after another, blow by blow, the battle raged on.

Mulan timed carefully for an opening and lashed out, hitting her foe, and knocking his staff away. Before he could retaliate, she took the end of her rake, and jabbed it towards him, just barely stopping at the neck.

"Dang, Girl! Pretty Boy better hope that he doesn't get you mad," yelled Mushu. She laughed.

"Even if he were to get me mad," she said, "I'm not so sure that I would be able to beat him in a fight, Mushu."

"Are you kiddin?" The guardian dragon asked disbelievingly. "You beat him plenty of times at Wu Zhong!"

"That was only once! I was just lucky enough to land that kick," she said. Her face flushed a bit with embarrassment.

"That's still considered a win!"

Mulan sighed, and continued practicing. As the sun rose in the sky, she kept at it, not noticing someone approaching her spot in the fields.

"I see that you are doing very well in your training, Mulan." She stopped practicing, and turned to see that her father was standing to the side, with his cane in hand, silently watching her fight the make-believe challenger.

"Baba!" she exclaimed. "How long have you been standing there?"

"I only just arrived." He hobbled over to where she was standing. "Mulan, were you expecting any visitors today?"

She shook her head. "No, Baba. The only people that I could've expected to see were Yao, Ling, Chien-Po, and Shang. And they should be in Wu Zhong by now. Why do you ask?"

"There is a man at the gate," he explained. "He told us that he needed to see you for an urgent matter."

"Oh." Mulan frowned. Who could've come by today?

"Alright then."

* * *

Mulan and her father walked back from the fields, finding a man standing next to his horse in the courtyard. He was older, in what she assumed to be his late twenty's, and had a small mustache. The man looked up as they approached, and bowed.

"Fa Mulan, I have a message to you," he said. "It is of the upmost importance." He held out a scroll. She gave him a puzzled look, and took it from his hand.

"Thank you," she tentatively moved to open it.

"I advise you not to do that, Fa Mulan," he interrupted her before she could remove the seal around it. He stepped closer, and lowered his voice. "It is not meant to be seen by others."

She got the message the first time, and tightened her grip around the scroll.

"Understood."

* * *

Mulan decided to open the scroll later in the afternoon. She was finished with all of her chores, and the sun was just starting to descend from its peak. Mulan walked into her room, closing the door behind her. After checking that no one was around, she sat down on her bed. Carefully removing the seal around the scroll, she opened it with confusion.

_Fa Mulan,_

_It is with great urgency that I request for you to come to the Imperial City. I cannot say what I need you for in this letter, but please have faith in me when I say that I need all of my most trusted allies by my side._

_At nightfall, you are to leave your home for the capital with all the necessary items you may need. It would be best if you leave in secrecy, with as little people knowing about your absence, the better. It will take around five days for you to reach the palace on horseback, including stopping to rest at night. Please arrive as soon as possible._

_You must come as swiftly, and subtly, as possible. I will explain more once you are here, but only once you are here, and not a moment beforehand. Burn this message when you have finished reading it. Don't forget to bring the crest that I gave you the last time that we met._

_The Emperor of China_*

Mulan stared at the document in disbelief. It must be very serious for the Emperor to call her back. She read over the scroll again, to make sure that she read everything clearly.

"Should I pack my bags?"

She dropped the scroll in her lap out of surprise. Mushu and Cri-Kee were peering over her shoulder, reading the message on her leg.

"Mushu? What are you doing?" she picked him up by the tail, and placed him beside her on the bed.

"Checking the mail." He jumped off the bed and onto the window sill, gesturing for Cri-Kee to follow.

"Cmon, Cri-Kee! We have a trip to get ready for!" He leaped out the window, carrying the cricket out with him by the antennae.

She shook her head with a smile on her face as she watched them head over to the Fa temple. Mulan looked at the scroll once more, put it aside, and began packing for her journey.

* * *

Mulan paced up and down in her room, thinking of her parents and the Emperor's request. What was she to do about her parents? Would they be able to take care of themselves while she was away? She couldn't turn down an order from the Emperor, could she?

She shook her head. No. An Imperial Order cannot be refused. But how would she tell her family about the order? Would they be alright with her leaving again so soon?

A throbbing sensation was forming in her temple. Trying to avoid the subject as much as possible, Mulan ran through a checklist of things she would need.

'Clothes…check. Hair tie…check. Emperor's crest…check. Father's armor and sword…not check.'

Mulan went through the house, and stopped in front of the room where her father's armor rested. She opened the door, and carefully moved over to the cabinet where her father kept it. The cabinet creaked open, revealing the suit of armor and his sword.

"You're not planning on sneaking out of the house again, are you?" She whirled around to see her father, mother, and grandmother in the doorway.

"Baba? How did you–" He held up the message from the Emperor.

"It would be wise to burn this before others can get their hands on it."

She moved her gaze to the floor. "Baba, Mama, Grandma, I…"

Her father cut her off. "We understand, Mulan. We can't keep you here forever. You're needed elsewhere; by people who would appreciate your help immensely."

"But, don't you need me here?" she protested. "How will you all fare with me at the palace?"

He glanced at the two women next to him, and brought his eyes to meet Mulan's. "The Emperor has called for your services. Refusing his order isn't an option."

"…I know, Baba."

He gestured toward the armor. "Take it. I have a feeling you might need it more than I."

Mulan nodded, and removed it from the cabinet. Quickly donning on the armor, she tied her hair up, and placed her father's sword on her side.

Fa Zhou observed his daughter with a glint in his eye.

"I'm proud of you Mulan. You've brought honor to this family, and I hope that you continue to do so."

"Thank you, Baba." She looked outside, and saw that the sun had long since fallen. "I should go. It's getting late."

Mulan walked to her mother and grandmother, and gave them a hug.

"Goodbye." She turned to her father, and embraced him as well. He nodded, and Mulan left the room to go get Khan.

She placed her bags on him, and finished running through her mental checklist. Mulan made sure that everything was there, and walked over to the front gate. She turned around to take another look at her home before she left. Mushu and Cri-Kee popped their heads out of one of her saddlebags.

"Don't worry, Mulan. They'll be fine," he tried his best to comfort her from his awkward position. Cri-Kee chirped in agreement.

"Yeah…" Mulan said absentmindedly. She mounted her black steed, and after taking one last glance at her home before leaving, she rode into the night, her form blending into the shadows.

* * *

Grandma Fa sauntered through the house with a lantern in her hands. As she made her way to her room, she noticed a figure standing outside, watching the gate. She walked over, and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"The hardest part of being a parent is learning to let go." He remained there, silently wishing that the gate would open again, to reveal a young girl, standing next to a black horse.

"I know."

* * *

Mulan stopped riding a couple of miles out of town. She found a spot near the side of the road, dismounted, and began starting a fire. Mushu jumped out of her bag, and climbed onto her shoulder.

"What are you doing?" he asked. "Aren't we supposed to head to the Imperial City?"

"Yes." She slightly blew on the sparks to get the flame going. She went to grab something from her bag, and came back with the Emperor's scroll. "I need to get rid of this before anyone else has a chance to read it." Mulan read it one more time, and threw it into the fire. She watched it be slowly eaten by the flames.

"Besides," she continued, "doesn't it seem more suspicious for a young man to be traveling at night than in the day?" Mushu grunted, and took a spot next to her.

Mulan removed her armor, leaving on her work clothes, and set it aside. She grabbed one of her bags, and used it to prop herself up from the ground. Staring at the midnight sky, she placed her hands behind her head, watching the stars twinkle.

The moon was nearly full as she gazed at it. A smile grew on her face as she pondered the mystery of the shining orb above her. Why did it change phases? Why did it shine so brightly in the night? Was it the face of some immortal being, smiling down upon the earth? A guardian, watching over them, perhaps? What did it look like, in lands across the sea?

She found herself thinking these thoughts as she drifted off to sleep, dreaming of faraway lands, and the moon that lights the night in places where she cannot even imagine.

* * *

"Ugh."

Shang groaned as he blew out the candle in his tent. He had only spent a few days here so far, and he was already starting to desire leaving. The captain turned over in his mat.

The new recruits were proving to be a handful. They were even more obnoxious than the recruits he trained before!

He turned over again. The batch of soldiers that Major Wei and he were in charge of was a mixture of those who had just enlisted, and those who had _actually_ had training. Shang still had soldiers under his command, namely, Yao, Ling, Chien-Po, and some of the others he'd trained before. It made him happy to know that they put their trust in him to lead them once more; even though his first job as captain wasn't exactly as they had planned.

The army was slowly gaining back its numbers from Shan-Yu's rampage. The military academy in the Imperial City still had students graduating, like he had before becoming a captain. Some of the graduating students were sent to Major Wei and him, to be trained further, until they were ready for the actual warfront, under General Feng Bao. Most of the more competent soldiers, that didn't need this training, and were ready, were sent to serve under General Feng's command. They also had a group of people who had enlisted right from the street. Anyone who wanted to enlist, for their patriotism, or to seek glory from the battlefield, was sent to him.

There was a large gap in the amount of skill between them. The enlisted soldiers that trained with Mulan were doing well, the graduates from the academy were a little unused to the change from the school and the camps, and the new enlisted soldiers were lagging behind, almost as bad as Mulan's group was at the beginning.

Shang rolled over, trying to find a comfortable position before falling asleep.

* * *

"You disappoint me, Zhao." He stared at the man with cold eyes.

"My deepest apologies, my lord." He circled him, searching for any sign of weakness.

"No motive…no plans…no significant information…" The man names Zhao spoke up.

"My lord, I have learned that the army is headed north, and…"

"Did I give you permission to speak?" he barked out the question in Zhao's face.

"I–" Zhao stopped, and rethought his next words.

"No, sir."

"Do you want me to die, Zhao?" Zhao shook his head nervously.

"No, sir! I would never–"

"Then why are you not obeying orders, Zhao?" Zhao immediately stopped talking. The man stopped in front of his face.

"I asked you, to go and learn what the Imperial Army's next plan of action is. Instead, you come back with nothing to offer, except the knowledge that they are headed north?" The man forced him to meet his gaze, and Zhao felt a surge of fear go through him.

"The Imperial Army was split into two groups, Zhao. One was headed south, the other north." The man pulled a knife out of his robes, and made a thin line across Zhao's face. Zhao kept his face still, making sure not to move until after his master had turned away.

"You will _not_ disappoint me a second time, Zhao."

* * *

She rode on through the streets as subtly as possible, and tried not to fiddle with the spot Mushu had chosen behind her neck.

"Mushu," she whispered.

"What?"

"Is there any way that you can shift your tail to a different position? It's making my neck itch!"

"Hold on…"

Mulan felt a small, furry thing be moved across her back, and move up towards her neck. She desperately tried not to squirm.

"Mushu!"

"Wait, wait…okay, how's that for ya?" She sighed when she no longer felt the uncomfortable feeling in her upper back.

"Much better, thank you."

Mulan was glad that she had asked Mushu to take care of it now; for they wouldn't have a chance to later. She rode up to the guards of the palace and dismounted, fully clad in her father's armor, with her hair tied up to help conceal her identity.

Removing the Emperor's crest from the saddle bag on Khan's left side; she walked forward, pausing only to show it to the sentinel.

The guard nodded, and she grabbed Khan's reins, leading him through the palace grounds. She handed him to a passing servant, and after taking off her bags, she watched him take Khan to the stables. Another came up to Mulan and led her to the room she would be staying in.

"I will notify His Majesty of your presence immediately." He bowed slightly, and left, closing the door behind him.

After he had closed the door, Mulan started to unpack, when Mushu popped out of her collar. Cri-Kee soon followed suit, coming out of his hiding place in her saddlebag.

"Man, the Emperor sure knows how to give people the royal treatment!" He jumped onto a bedside table, observing the rather large room with a smile on his face. "Hey, Mulan, you think you can get one of the servants to bring up some food – I'm starving!" She placed a hand over his mouth.

"Be quiet, Mushu! What if a servant or something comes in and hears you?" Mulan walked over to the door and peeked outside.

"Hey, servants know how to knock! And it's not like they would have to be suspicious about you asking for some food; even the Heroine of China needs to eat!" His arms waved around in emphasis. She closed the door, and plopped herself in a comfortable chair.

"Well, what if the Emperor wants to see me? I can't exactly say no because I'm eating!"

"Fine." Mushu slouched in defeat. "Ask for food later." He noticed that she was still fully dressed. "Mulan, are you even going to take off your armor? I know that you're trying to hide your identity and all, but if you just take off your armor, you aren't going to give anything away."

Mulan got up from her position in the chair, and moved over to the side of the room, where a full length mirror stood by a dresser.

"I think I should leave this on, Mushu. That servant said that he would tell the Emperor that I'm here, so it shouldn't take too long. Besides, this is the most formal thing that I have!" She did a quick survey of herself.

"Mulan, are you really saying that your father's armor is the only formal wear you have?" Mushu said incredulously.

"No, but it's the only thing that won't give off the fact that I'm not a man!" She clamped a palm over her mouth as soon as the words left her lips.

"You know, if you really want keep up the illusion, you might wanna lower your voice," he whispered, putting a claw in front of his jaws, giving her the 'shhhhh' sign.

A knock sounded throughout the room. Mulan ran over to the table and pushed Mushu and Cri-Kee under the bed. After making sure one last time that she was presentable, she rushed to the door, opening it in a hurry.

"Yes?" The servant from earlier gave a small bow as he came into view.

"The Emperor will see you now."

* * *

**A/N:** Hi again! Sorry that I haven't updated in a while; I've been pretty busy. And I'm really sorry to say that things probably won't settle down for a couple of weeks. But anyways, thanks for reading, reviewing, etc. Now for the *'s:

*Okay, you know those things on Mushu's face that make him look like he has a yellow mustache? They look like small yellow tails (at least to me ;) ) on both sides of Mushu's nose. If I am not mistaken, I believe that they are called "feelers". Please correct me if I'm wrong =].

*Since we really don't know the Emperor's name (I'm talking about Disney's version of the Emperor, not the real life Emperor of that time period), then I'm just going to keep calling him by his titles. Disney didn't give him a name, so I would rather not make one up.

I know that not much has happened in this chapter, but please be patient, and the next chapter will be up as soon as I can finish it! **Please leave feedback, suggestions, concerns, etc.** It helps me know that you all are interested, and it gives me ideas. I would really appreciate constructive criticism.** Thank you all again! =D**


	5. Chapter 4

********

Prisoner of War

Disclaimer: I do not own Mulan.

*Refer to Author Note

Chapter 4

* * *

As the servant led her down the corridors, Mulan couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. Was the Emperor going to ask her to join the army again? It seemed like a lot of people were pushing her to do that nowadays. She didn't have that much of a problem with it; after her last experience with the military, she was used to the most of the soldier lifestyle.

They reached the doors, and with a knock on the door, the servant pushed open both sides, revealing an extremely large room. It had red walls, pillars keeping the ceiling in place, and a large set of stairs, with an elevated platform on the top. The Emperor sat in his throne, hands folded, giving off the essence of royalty. Mulan ascended the first small group of stairs, and bowed. He raised a hand, motioning for her to stand up.

"Welcome, Fa Ping," he spoke with a regal voice. "It is a pleasure to see you again. I understand that you have been enjoying your leave?"

"Yes sir." Mulan lifted her head. "My wound has completely healed, and while it has left a scar, there is no pain, and I am ready for anything that Your Majesty may ask of me."

"Do you play weiqi?"

Mulan raised an eyebrow. Weiqi? That game where you throw rocks*?

"I beg your pardon, sir?" She watched as he answered her with a straight face.

"I understand that you play a good game of xiangqi. By any chance, do you happen to know how to play weiqi?" If his face were not so serious, she might have thought that he was joking.

"…I have heard of it, but I have never learned. Why do you ask, Your Highness?"

"Then I shall teach you." He responded without answering her question. Before she could react, he stood up from his throne, and walked down the stairs, past her, and turned left, walking to a small door on the side. He twisted his head around, and motioned for her to follow.

Moving as fast as she could, Mulan stood up from her place on the floor, ran down the stairs, and followed him through the door. He waited until she was a few steps behind him before proceeding.

She followed him into a small room. It had two bookcases on the sides, and a large cabinet –much like the one that her father had kept his armor in – on the wall facing the door. A table and two seats were positioned in the center. The Emperor took a seat on one of the chairs, and gestured for her to sit down. Mulan noticed a board with intersecting lines on the top, forming a grid. There were two round wooden containers on the side, each with a lid on them. The Emperor snapped his fingers, and the door closed tight. She sat down hesitantly, and watched as he took the lids off the two containers.

"Normally, two players will determine which color each player gets through a small guessing game," he began. "One would guess whether a player would have an even or odd amount of stones in his hands. If he wins, then he gets black, and if he loses, he gets white." He handed her one of the containers. It had a large amount of small black game pieces in it. "But for now, you will have black."

Mulan took the container from his hands, and placed it to her right. She folded her hands in her lap, waiting for him to continue speaking.

"Black moves first. On every turn, you place one stone – one of your game pieces – on one of the intersections on the board. The objective of the game is to gain the most points as possible. The points are scored by the amount of space that is within your area. Your area is the combination of the intersections, and the stones of your color that surround it."

"Excuse me, Your Highness?" she asked with a bewildered expression on her face.

He chuckled. "I understand that this may be a bit confusing for you. How about we just play? You are a smart girl; I'm sure that you will catch on." He gestured to the board with his right hand.

"Black moves first." Mulan looked at the board, and tentatively picked up a stone.

"Alright then…" she placed it on the edge of the board.

"Hmm…" The Emperor stroked his beard. "An interesting starting move." He picked up a stone between his index and middle fingers, and placed it on the board. "The last time that we met, you proved that you are a good strategist. Let us see if that applies to your life, outside of battle."

Stone after stone was placed on the board, and eventually, part of the board became covered in black and white stones, and the rest were empty intersections. Mulan studied the board, and looked down sheepishly. She had not played this game before, but she had the sneaking suspicion that she had lost.

"Let us review the game, shall we?" The Emperor used his arm to swipe the stones off the board. Her eyes widened with surprise.

"I don't mean to seem presumptuous sir, but how will we review the game if you removed all of the stones?" she asked. He let out a low chuckle.

"Let me worry about that." He placed all of them to the side, except one black stone, which he placed in the same intersection that she had played. "You played well for your first game, Fa Mulan."

The Emperor continued to play the stones, making comments on where she had went wrong, and what she could've done to change the outcome of the game.

"One move can alter the course of the game greatly," he said. "It takes a good strategist to notice an opportunity, but a skilled one to act upon it."

Mulan was amazed. How could he do that? They both were constantly adding stones on the board as the game went on, and yet he had memorized the whole game, and the order of which the stones were played, to the point that he was able to replay it! She stared in shock.

"This principal is not limited to the game itself." The Emperor picked up a black stone and held it in his hand. "It can be applied to all things in life. For example…in war, if a man were to cross the boundary between his country's territory, and their enemy's, and was caught," he placed the stone in the middle of white's territory, "then he would be captured immediately." He removed the stone from white's area.

"However," the Emperor placed the black stone back where he got it from, and picked up a white stone, "if he were to disguise himself as one of their own," he placed the white stone amongst the other ones of its color, "and wasn't found, then he becomes part of the chain." He waved his hand above the board, and gestured to the chain that the stone had become a part of.

"Just think, what opportunities there would be, for that side, if one of their men was able to infiltrate the enemy's base of operation, and leak information to his side!" He sat up straight, and looked up at Mulan, waiting for her response. She rolled the words around in her head a little bit, and tilted her head a bit to the side.

"But sir," she asked. "How would you know if that person was trustworthy enough? That you would be able to put such faith into this person; that he would not betray you and turn to the other side?"

"That is why I need someone that I am able to put all of my faith into. Someone who has earned my trust," he said. The Emperor started putting the white stones away, and Mulan placed all of the black stones back into their container.

"Tell me, have you heard rumors of a soldier who was killed recently?" Mulan looked up at the change in topic. "Normally, hearing that a soldier was killed isn't all that different in these times, but his case was different. He was tortured to death." She recalled the soldier that Shang mentioned about a week ago.

"Yes, sir. Why do you ask, sir?" His face grew grim.

"Since that day, we have found four more in his situation," he said. "They have all been tortured to death, with some type of blade wound as the deathblow." Mulan had a sharp intake of breath.

"Obviously, we are not dealing with ordinary enemies here." He placed the containers to the side of the board, and folded his hands on the table. His voice rose as he continued talking.

"We believe that they belong to an organized group; we have found their camps, analyzed the body remains, and tried tracking them, and yet we still have not been able to even identify them. It takes skill to be untraceable, and yet they are able to do so while leaving their evidence in plain sight!" She frowned, her unoccupied hands fidgeting in her lap.

"Sir, why have you called me here?" she asked.

"I need you, to infiltrate the enemy's forces. You need to penetrate their forces, and gather information that would be beneficial to us.

This is an extremely dangerous mission, Fa Mulan, and should not be taken lightly. By placing yourself among these people, you are not only endangering your life, but, the fate of China would rest upon your shoulders. And while you may not be the most qualified, you are one of the few people that I believe can pull this off. Will you do it?"

She felt her hands and her jaw clench. What would she do? The emperor was entrusting her to complete this mission, one that she had been given the _privilege_ to be chosen for. She can't back down from it; the Emperor had specifically called her for this; and yet, Mulan was still worried for her family back home.

What would they do in her absence? Grandma Fa was lively, but she was too old to work. Her father can't work; he's crippled on his right leg! He can barely move even with assistance! And her mother wouldn't be able to find a job at all; it wasn't as if she had received the Emperor's Crest! No one would hire her if she had to find a job!

"I am not going to force you into doing this, Fa Mulan. The danger level for this mission is on an entirely new level, and you have the right to refuse," the old man spoke with kind words. Mulan bowed her head as much as she could, without banging her head on the table.

"I would be honored, Your Highness, to complete this mission, if that is what you so wish," she whispered in a muffled voice.

"You seem troubled, child," he said. "What is on your mind?"

"There is nothing wrong, Your Highness," Mulan protested. "I am thinking about the mission ahead–"

"Do not think that you can fool me, Fa Mulan. You haven't practiced the deception enough to hide your true feelings; not yet at any rate." His words reminded her of her father. "If you have something to say, then speak loud, or it will never be heard."

She thought for a moment, before speaking again. "I am afraid for my family, sir."

"How so?"

"I am worried for my family. They can't take care of themselves alone! I'm worried that something will happen while I am away. What will happen if they can't support themselves any longer? What if father falls down, and his leg becomes even worse? What if someone dies – ancestors forbid – what will I do? If I am out on a mission, and something happens, then–"

"Calm down, child." The Emperor stopped her before she could get through with her rant. "I understand your concern. I will send one of my servants – I have plenty – to your home to watch over your parents, that way, you will be able to focus a little better on your objective." Mulan snapped her head up to stare at him.

"Your Highness, I don't want to bother you–"

"There is no need to worry, young one. I have plenty of servants, far too many, I might add, and I would be more than happy to send a couple with the job of guarding your family."

"Thank you for your kindness, sir!" She said this with as much gratitude as possible.

"Well now, is there anything else that is troubling you?"

"No, sir." She jumped in realization at what she had just done. "I am truly sorry for forcing my troubles upon you, Your Highness!"

"It is alright, child. There is no need to apologize." The Emperor raised his hand in the air, and snapped his fingers. A man appeared by his side, fully clad in black, with a dark blue sash tied around his waist. He gave off an intimidating atmosphere, and had creases in his brow. Mulan almost gasped in surprise. "You know what to do."

"Yes, my lord." He moved around the table, and tapped a hand on Mulan's shoulder.

"Please follow me." She stood up, and followed him to the cabinet facing the door.

He opened the cabinet and staring back at them, were a bunch of robes. The man pushed the robes aside, and Mulan saw that in the back of the cabinet, was a small depression in the middle of the wood. He raised his hands, and pushed in the middle of the depression. Much to her surprise, the back of the cabinet started to move outwards. He continued to push, until there was a complete pathway in the back of the cabinet.

"This way." He jumped through the cabinet, leaving a confused Mulan.

"I suggest that you follow him," reminded the Emperor. "He isn't the type to wait for others very long."

Mulan nodded, and climbed into the cabinet. She was greeted by a pit of darkness. She heard the expression 'look before you leap', but this was ridiculous! Deciding to trust the Emperor's judgment, she climbed through the hole, and entered the shadows.

The man was standing behind the doorway. He pushed the wood back in its place, exactly the same way that it was before. The light slowly faded away as the entrance closed. Mulan felt someone grab her arm, and pull her to the left.

"Follow," he said.

"He doesn't talk much, does he?" she barely heard Mushu whisper in her ear.

He led her through the tunnel, and after nearly tripping over a rock twice, he stopped. He placed his hand on the wall in front of him, and said:

"Open."

The rock face swung inwards, revealing an enormous, plain room. It had plain walls, and a high ceiling. Mulan figured that it was almost as large as the palace's dining hall. The entrance to another room was on the left wall. Above it was a long painting of a dragon, soaring in the clouds.

The door closed behind them, and Mulan saw a young man, about her age, standing next to it. He had no facial hair, and was just barely taller than her. The one who brought her here turned to face her.

"You will address me as Master Yang. I am going to be preparing you for this mission." He gestured to the young man next to the door. "During this mission, you will address him as Bai Chang. He is your ally, as well as partner, for this mission." He bowed, and she did the same, relaxing a bit as she did so. At least this meant that she and Master Yang wouldn't be the only ones there.

"Hello," he said. "It is a pleasure to be–"

Yang cut him off with a wave of his hand. "We will be spending all day here, until I feel that you are ready for this mission. We start tomorrow. Until then, you are to head to your room for a night's rest before training." He turned around, and left the room.

"You are Fa Mulan, correct?" She whirled around at the sound of her name. The guy standing next to the door walked up to her.

"Yes. And I suppose that you are Bai Chang?" she said. He shrugged his shoulders.

"Sort of. I guess that's my cue to take you back to your room then." He opened the door to the tunnel back up again, and grabbed a lantern from the other room before closing the door again.

Mulan followed him through the corridor, and was led down a long, straight path. They walked with relative silence; the little noise that they made bounced off the rock walls.

"So, Bai Chang, how did you know that I would be on this mission?" Mulan asked. "Were you briefed by Master Yang before you came here?"

He snorted. "Master Yang? Tell me anything? I don't see that any time soon." He looked at Mulan with apologetic eyes. "Sorry. I think I'm just a bit bitter. Master Yang normally won't tell anyone anything unless they really need to know."

"Then how did you know who I am?"

"I was told by someone else to expect you onboard this mission, too." He paused for a moment. "I suppose that since I already know who you are, that it's only fair that I tell you who I am." He faced her and smiled. "I am Luo Jun."

"Then why did Master Yang tell me to call you Bai Chang?"

"Liao Bai Chang is an alias. Since this mission requires us to do some intelligence gathering, then they decided to give us each an assumed name."

"I see. Do you know what mine is?"

"No. The only reason I know mine now is because I managed to get here a little bit early." Jun stopped, nearly causing Mulan to bump into him. He moved to the right, and pulled out a long, tall object with small rungs going across it.

'A ladder?' She watched him place it against the wall of the tunnel, and climb up. He reached for the ceiling, and slid a small square panel to the side. Being careful not to injure himself, Jun leaped down, and landed next to Mulan.

"Climb up this ladder, and crawl through that small hole. Your room is up there." Mulan nodded, and began climbing the ladder.

"Thank you." Jun glanced around awkwardly, and began fidgeting.

"No problem," he said. His hands were fiddling with the seams of his clothing. "I guess I should go now, so, don't forget to close the panel after you get out!"

"I'll be sure to do that." Mulan reached the top of the ladder, and stuck her arms out to grab the edge of the small opening. She used her arms to pull herself up, and careful not to bump her head, crawled out from under the large object that was covering the panel. She stood up, observing her surroundings. She was back in her room.

Mulan got back on her knees, and inched her way back to the panel. She peeked inside, and saw Jun standing there, waiting. Mulan smiled slightly, and after watching him mimic her actions, she closed the panel, and shuffled her way out of the crawlspace.

"That's my girl!" Mushu slithered out of her collar, with Cri-Kee hanging onto his tail. "Being called by the Emperor for a super secret mission!" Mulan pulled him from her neckline, and placed him and Cri-Kee on the nightstand by her bed.

"It's not a big deal, Mushu. I'm sure that plenty of people get called by the Emperor," she said. She walked to her bags in the corner of the room, and pulled out some nightclothes that she had packed. Mushu covered his eyes, and Cri-Kee turned around.

"It may not a be a big deal for you, Miss Fa Mulan, Heroine of China, but for most people, being called upon by the Emperor is a HUGE deal!"

"That's not what I mean. I mean that being called upon for _this _mission isn't a big deal." She removed her clothes; first her armor, then the layer of clothes underneath that, and then pulled on her night clothes. "I'm not the only one to have ever received an Emperor's crest before. Besides, I've already passed off as a man once; he probably hopes that since I've done it before, I could do it again." She sat on the bed, and Mushu opened his eyes.

"Yes, but he said that he needed someone that he could put his complete trust into. I don't think that he just gives his full trust to anyone he randomly finds on the street!" The small dragon waved his arms around to prove his point.

"He didn't say complete trust," she muttered sleepily. She looked out the window. Stars lined the sky above, and the moon shined brightly, illuminating all below it with a subtle glow. Mulan moved up from her seat on the bed, and put out the lantern light. She climbed into bed, pulling the covers over her body. "Goodnight Mushu. Pleasant dreams, Cri-Kee."

"Night!" Mushu and Cri-Kee leapt into her saddle bags.

Chirp.

Mulan looked up at the ceiling, and closed her eyes. There was a long day ahead of her, and she would need her rest.

* * *

"Your Highness," Yang landed by his side. "Are you sure about this?"

He looked up from his seat. "What do you think of Mulan, and Luo Jun?"

"Sir, are you sure about this?" he repeated the question. "They are just kids. I do not believe that they are ready for this mission."

"That is what you are here for, Yang; to prepare them so that they will be ready for the task at hand. Besides, you were no older than them when you finished your training."

"But sir, I had already _finished_ years of training! And it took me plenty years more to master these arts! These children only have a couple of weeks!"

"Do you have faith in me, Yang?"

"But–"

"Is that a yes, or a no?"

"…Yes, Your Excellency."

"Then trust me. Have seen with my own eyes what these two are capable of, and I have my full trust into both of them. I place as much trust in them as I do you, Yang. Fa Mulan and Luo Jun are smart kids; they'll catch on quickly."

"…Yes, Your Majesty."

* * *

"Boy! Get over here!" The boy ran over to Zhang's side.

"Sir?"

"What are you standing there for?" Zhang pointed to the large, pot by the fire.

"Yes, sir."

He grabbed the large pot and rag, and trudged to the outskirts of the forest they were in. A little ways out of camp was a small river. He dipped the pot into the water, and began washing it to the best of his ability. He the pot in the river, kept upright by its own weight, and sat down next to the brook.

How long had it been since he had been free? He looked at his hands. They were covered with blisters. He stumbled over to the water, and looked at his reflection once more. Who was that boy he saw staring straight back at him?

'This isn't good…' he thought. 'I can't even remember my name.'

He concentrated hard. The only thing that they bothered to call him here was either "boy", or "kid". He had been imprisoned long enough to forget his own name. Or at least, it seemed like a long time. Time moves according to the situation that you were in, he supposed. It never seems to move the way you want it to.

'Shan? Shen? Something like that,' he told himself. His surname was on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't quite get it out.

Shen looked over at the pot in the stream, and saw that the outer dirt was starting to soften a bit. He began scrubbing the dirt off. Once he was satisfied that the pot was clean to Zhang's standards – and they were pretty low – then he heaved the pot out of the water, and struggled to carry it back to camp.

* * *

A/N: Hey guys, what's up? Yeah, I haven't updated in a while, and I'm really sorry about that. I can't really do much about how busy I am right now, sorry ^^". But, as I always am, I try to put most of my free time into writing this story. Here are the *'s:

*Ok, yeah…Mulan doesn't know that much about weiqi, and I don't really either. Whatever information that I have here about it is what I found on the internet. If there are any mistakes, please tell me so I can try to correct it!

*Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed, etc. They are very much appreciated =D

Thanks again to people who read, reviewed, etc. If you find a mistake, or have a suggestion, or something else about this story, **please inform** me! **Please do**! I love suggestions! A story that is under production can always go through changes, so if you have an idea, don't be afraid to speak out loud, or else no one will hear it. Thanks!


	6. Chapter 5

Prisoner of War

Disclaimer: I do not own Mulan.

*Refer to Author Note

Chapter 5

_

* * *

_

Snore.

Mulan groaned. What was that noise?

_SNORE._

She rose up from her lying position in bed. Mulan looked out the window with her eyes half closed. The sun was just starting to peek out from over the horizon. With a yawn, the half-awake girl rose from bed, and got dressed in a training uniform. It was about time to wake up anyways.

_Snort._

When she finished dressing, she reached into her saddlebag, and pulled out a small, sleeping, red dragon. He woke with a start as she lifted him by his tail.

"Hey, hey, what gives? Can't a dragon get some sleep around here?" Mulan lightly shook him from the tip of his tail.

"Mushu, wake up. At this rate, your snoring will wake up the whole palace." He stretched, and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm up. Can you put me down now?" She set him down on the floor, and reached in her bag for something to tie her hair with. She pulled Cri-Kee out, and set him gently on the table, and kept looking for it.

"Oh, sure, the insect gets put on the table gently, while I get waved around by my tail!" Having found her hair tie, she proceeded to tie her hair in its usual manner.

"Quit complaining, Mushu," she said. Once she was finished, she made sure that no one was looking, and crawled under her bed. The panel slid over to the side, and after making sure that the ladder was in place before she climbed down, Mulan descended the rungs, closing the panel as she went down.

* * *

Now that she finally got a chance to see it clearly, Mulan noticed that the tunnel wasn't what she had imagined. The walls and ceiling were grey, and the ground was solid under her feet. Black lamps were fashioned to the walls illuminating the path ahead of her. She was glad that they were lit this time; it would be a pain trying to find her way to that room again without some sort of light.

Mulan walked down the hallway, careful to mind the rocks that she nearly tripped on the first time, wondering what the training would be like. If it was anything like her war training, then it should be easy to adjust to…well, she hoped it would.

She stopped in front of the wall preventing her from going further. That wasn't right; there was supposed to be a door somewhere, wasn't there? How else did she and Master Yang get into the training room yesterday? Mulan stepped in front of the barrier in front of her, and placed her hand on the wall.

"Open." She stepped back, and waited.

…

…

…

"Damn." Well, that didn't work. There had to be another way in!

She knocked on the wall in front of her. It made a hollow sound as she rapped on the wall. After a little more of waiting, she began to pace in the narrow tunnel. How was she supposed to get in if she couldn't find the entrance?

Mulan hit her fist on the wall to her right. Why wasn't this working! Once her fist hit the side of the wall, she stopped.

'What was that noise?' she thought to herself. She quietly knocked on the wall in the same spot that she had just hit with her fist. Unlike the dead end that she knocked on, this part of the wall made a solid sound. All of a sudden, it clicked*.

She stood straight up in front of the wall, and knocked again, this time louder.

"Open."

The door swung out away from her, revealing a young man in brown training clothes.

"Wow, you're good! It took me ages to figure that one out!" said Luo Jun. "Master Yang had to fish me out of the labyrinth himself." He closed the door behind her as she came in.

"Labyrinth?" Mulan looked back at the closed door. "What do you mean labyrinth?" Jun looked at her skeptically.

"You don't really think that the door over there is the only one, do you?"

"Jun!" A man in dark clothes walked in from the other room. He carried a simple fan in his right hand. "What did I tell you before?" His eyes showed annoyance as he glared at Jun. Jun stared at the floor.

"Do not reveal unnecessary information," he mumbled.

"Make sure that you don't forget it!" yelled Master Yang. He turned to Mulan before speaking again.

"Since this is a reconnaissance mission, you and Luo Jun have been given aliases." He began pacing in front of them, not unlike Shang would do during their first weeks in training.

"As I have said before, when we are out in the feild you will address him–" he used the fan to swiftly hit Jun on the head "–as Liao Bai-Chang. Your alias for this mission is Liao Cai-Cheng." Jun stopped listening to rub the back of his head and looked back at Master Yang.

"You want us to pose as siblings?" she asked, disbelief raked into her voice.

A simple "Yes," was his reply.

"How do you expect us to pose as siblings?" In his confusion, Jun switched his focus from Mulan to Master Yang. "We don't look similar enough."

"With a little hard work," he said, "and a convincing act, anything can be achieved." He took a fighting stance, and smirked.

"Now then, let's get started."

* * *

Mulan looked away for a moment to see the Emperor walk into the room. Noticing her distraction, Master Yang crouched low, and swept her feet right out from under her. She fell to the floor, landing on her rear end. Jun stood still in his fighting stance, and bowed to the Emperor. Master Yang stood up, and scolded her.

"Never give your opponent an opening. Even if you lose your focus for only a single moment, the foe may find you weakness, and exploit it." He turned to the Emperor and bowed. His two students quickly followed suit. The Emperor chuckled.

"Mulan, Jun, I apologize for how fast the training must go, but we have a limited time frame to work with," he said. The three of them rose, and Mulan noticed that there were two people behind him: two men, one with a large beard and light brown eyes, and the other with a bald head and face. The man without hair had a small mole on his left cheek.

"I just wanted you to know who is being sent to your house, Fa Mulan. These two are Tao and Xin." He pointed to which one was which, and said:

"Tao and Xin are the ones I am sending to your family to take care of them." He chuckled. "I hope that this will allow you to become more focused on your training, child." With that, he chuckled, and walked out of the room. Master Yang sighed as the Emperor left.

"Once more!"

* * *

Mushu looked up as Mulan entered her room via the secret panel beneath her bed.

"Dang, girl! Ya look like Cri-Kee when he gets stepped on! What happened to you?" he asked. Mulan quickly dressed into a comfortable set of nightclothes, and crawled into her bed.

"Today Master Yang worked with me and Jun on our hand to hand combat," she said sleepily.

"He probably thinks that you are his best student, doesn't he? You were the star pupil then, and the star pupil now, aren'tcha?" Mulan yawned, and closed her eyes.

"Mushu, I'm tired, please just let me rest for tomorrow," she mumbled.

"Yeah, yeah, alright. I'll stop bothering you so that you can kick butt tomorrow!" he exclaimed.

"Thanks, Mushu." She turned over on her side. "And to answer your question, Master Yang says that I'm not bad for someone with my little amount of time training. Oh, and that he thinks that I'm better then Luo Jun."

* * *

Shang rubbed his temples. His troops had made little progress. What was he to do when it was time to join the others? Whether they were ready or not, he would have to pass these men off as decent soldiers, and if an enemy attacked? His men would be the first to die.

The captain continued walking along the edge of the lake. The sun was just setting over the water, reflecting the light in small clusters. The way it rippled in the slight breeze reminded him of his stay at the Fa house. Their garden should be in mid-bloom right now.

He thought about the talk he had with Mulan, that time he followed her home. She looked beautiful in the moonlight–

'NO! No, stop it!' he berated himself for letting his thoughts wander.

Shang cursed under his breath. No. He can't think of Mulan that way. They were just friends, weren't they? He couldn't think of her that way! It would jeopardize the bond that they already had! She was one of his closest friends, and he didn't want to lose that.

What was she to him anyways? More importantly, what was _he_ to _her_? She told him before that she considered him a friend, but did she really mean that? Or was she just being nice?

He wasn't able to find an answer to that question, as he heard something moving in the grass. He turned around to face the noise, and out came one of his new privates. The man shifted his way out of the grass, and presented him with a scroll. What was his name again?

"A message from the Imperial City, sir." Shang took the letter from the private, and to avoid any awkwardness about forgetting his name, sent him away with a flick of his hand.

"Thank you." Once the private was out of sight, he strode back to his tent with the scroll in hand.

He sat down at the table in his tent, and broke the seal around the scroll. He read the scroll with a raised eyebrow.

_Captain Li Shang,_

_I have sent this letter to inform you that within a few weeks, you will be gaining another officer in your group. He is a new lieutenant, and has not yet been shown what being a commissioned officer truly means. He is new, straight from the academy, and I thought that having you be somewhat of a mentor to him would do some good._

_I know that you have been in his position before, and that you know what it is like to be thrust into a position with no experience. I have already informed Major Wei, but I feel that you would do a better job at steering him in the right direction, as you are closer to him in rank and age. Expect him to arrive with a companion._

_The Emperor of China_

Shang rubbed his temple. A new officer? He didn't see that coming.

'Great. Now I have to show him the ropes.' He let out an exasperated sigh. He really hoped that this new officer wasn't a fraud.

Although, being assigned by the Emperor himself was very impressive. This guy had to be pretty good to grasp the Emperor's attention. If the Emperor gave in to flatterers, then Chi Fu would probably be heir to the throne! The country being ruled by Chi Fu – just thinking about it made him shudder.

He tucked the scroll into a small bin that he kept all of his important documents in. Apparently he would have to wait until his charge came along before judging him. He would just have to set his curiosity aside for the moment.

* * *

"Now!"

Jun retracted his arm, and in a single motion, sent the weapon in his hand flying across the room. It just barely missed the edge of the target.

Master Yang gave Jun a disappointed look. He smiled sheepishly, and glanced at Mulan, silently pleading for help. Mulan only gave him a look of pity.

Well, he had tried, hadn't he?

* * *

Tao leaned over to whisper to Xin.

"Xin, are you sure that we are going the right way?"

"Of course we are!" Xin snapped. "I have a map."

Tao steered his horse over, and tried snatching it from his hand.

"Lemme see it for a sec–"

_Rip._

"Oops…"

"Dammit!" Xin tried fitting the two pieces of the map together. "You see what happens when you don't trust my sense of direction? Now how are we supposed to get to her house?"

Tao snatched the other half of the map from Xin, slightly ripping it again as he tried piecing it back together.

"Well, there is a town right here, so if we stop for a bit, we can buy another map, and ask for directions."

"Well, Tao, how are we supposed to find our way there without the map?"

"It's only been torn a little bit! We can still read it if we line it up right…"

"It doesn't go that way, stupid, it goes this way!"

"Those mountains don't belong up there, they belong over–" Tao stopped in the middle of his sentence, and raised his hand, motioning for Xin to be quiet. He directed his eyes to the source of a small rustling sound. To his surprise, a small creature with red fur and a long, pointed tail came out of the bush.

"A fox?" he said. He heard Xin let out a breath of air behind him.

"Well, at least it was only a fox, right Xin?" Tao looked over his shoulder, and found an empty space where his partner was just a moment ago.

"Xin!" He called louder, and frantically searched for him. "Xin, where are you?"

Tao heard a small noise, and turned around to look back at the fox. Its eyes glinted, and his world went dark.

* * *

Master Yang stood in front of Mulan, watching her with a slight frown on his face.

"When a person lies, their body has a physical reaction. There is always an inner reaction, and sometimes, there is an outer reaction. For example, Jun's external reaction is to look to his right, and to bite his lip."

"Hey!" Jun protested. "I do not!" Master Yang sighed.

"Jun, I can see you biting your lip from over here."

"No, I'm not!" he said.

"I can also see you fidgeting with the bottom seam of your shirt." Jun flushed, and let go of his top. Master Yang started pacing in front of the two of them.

"When you lie, your pulse automatically starts beating faster." Master Yang placed two fingers up to Mulan's neck, feeling for a pulse. He pressed down gently, in a way that she was able to feel it too. He waited a minute, allowing for the pulse to settle.

"What is your name?" Mulan looked at Jun nervously.

"Fa Mulan." Her pulse stayed the same.

"Now, are you married? Lie about your answer."

"Yes?" She said the first thing that came to mind. He didn't say anything. She felt the pulse in her neck increase, and decrease within the next couple of minutes.

"Now," he let go of her neck, and reached for her hand. He took her index and middle fingers, and lined them on his wrist. Master Yang beckoned for Jun to come closer, and told him to place his hand on his neck.

"I am 25 years old, I have an overwhelming desire to eat dumplings right now, and I have a sixth toe growing on my left foot." Mulan felt his wrist for a pulse, and was surprised to find that his heartbeat did not have any change.

"The internal reaction that most people have is that their heart rate will increase." He stepped back, allowing all three of them some personal space. "Now, we will be working on reading body language."

_

* * *

_

A couple of weeks, and plenty of training later…

Master Yang sighed. Only five days separated them from the start of their mission. He looked over at his two students, and watched them fight each other.

Their movements were swift, controlled, and powerful. Master Yang noticed in his time training them that both Mulan and Jun had improved tremendously in the time given. They had great potential, he mused, but what concerned him was that they had neither the time, nor the experience that was needed to master his teachings.

Jun spun around to land a kick on her side. Using the palm of her hand, she redirected his foot, and came in with a counterattack to his ribcage. Jun was thrown back onto his bottom a couple of feet away.

"It seems that Mulan has won again." Master Yang stood up from his seat on the side, and waited for him to get back up. He moved in front of his two students, and looked at both of them with a gleam in his eye.

"You both have come a long way since the being assigned this mission; I believe that you are ready," he said, with a touch of pride in his voice.

"For the mission?" asked Jun.

"Not yet, but close."

"Then what do you think that we are ready for, Master?" Mulan stared at him with her eyebrows creased in confusion.

"For your final test." Master Yang's expression changed from one of subtle pride, to grim seriousness. "This is your last chance to leave. Once you take this test, there is no turning back."

Mulan swallowed; her throat was dry. "What if we fail?"

Master Yang didn't answer. Instead, he grabbed a sword that was sitting beside him and brought it up in his stance.

"During your final test, you both will have to fight me!"

Without warning, he rushed forward, his sword ready to strike. Before Mulan knew it, the edge of the blade was just an inch away from her throat. She leaned back, and moved her arm up to block it. Master Yang retracted his arm, jumping to the side, and lashed out at Jun. Jun ducked, and came out on the other side.

Mulan and Jun took turns attacking, only managing to get rid of the sword. She cursed to herself as was hit in the stomach again. What would she and Jun have to do to get him to stop his attack?

She saw Jun get punched in the face. As Master Yang retracted his fist, she noticed his opening. Every time that he struck, he retracted his limbs in a way that left his chest open. All she had to do now was to wait for the right chance.

Moving in a circle around him, Mulan stayed at a little bit of an angle behind Jun. Master Yang noticed her movements, and dropped under a blow aimed for his head. He spun around, and delivered a sweeping kick to the leg. Jun stumbled out of the way in time to avoid the hit by a hair. As Master Yang was about to stand up, Mulan brought her fist down to his level, stopping it before it connected with his nose. They all paused, and Master Yang let a small smirk get across his face.

"Well done." Mulan breathed heavily as the compliment sunk in, and started to smile. "However, I suggest that you work on defense more."

Puzzled, she looked down at his arm. His hand held a small knife, an inch away from her throat. "Nonetheless, you pass." He backed out of the position that both of them were in, and looked at Jun, who stood in a fighting stance behind him.

"Although I still believe that Mulan is on a higher level than you are," he said mockingly, "you pass as well."

Jun relaxed, and broke his face into a wide grin. "One day, I'll be better than her."

"I wouldn't count on that," Mulan retorted.

Master Yang placed the sword down on his seat, and sat down. "Now that you both have passed, we can move onto the mission. Go back to your rooms for now, rest, and everything will be explained tomorrow."

Mulan sighed in relief. After all this training, she would be happy to just crawl into bed and rest.

* * *

Tao felt himself being thrown on the ground. A thump and he knew that one more person – probably Xin – had been tossed next to him. A cloth covered his eyes and served as a makeshift blindfold; another one gagged his mouth.

He heard voices around him, but his head was foggy. He couldn't make out the words that they were saying. He could feel his head pulsing, and there was a nasty pain in his stomach.

Maybe he was drunk. He never was able to hold his liquor well. It wouldn't be the first time that he forgotten what happened because of a drink. His head wasn't clear enough to understand what was going on around him.

He heard someone moan to his right. It was Xin's voice. Well, at least he knew that Xin was okay. He tried moving his hands, and just realized that they were bound as well. Tao wiggled his ankles, and concluded the same thing. He sniffed the air, and the smell of smoke filled his lungs. Not long after he fell back into unconsciousness once more.

* * *

After doing something so many times, one begins to memorize what happens. Mulan walked down the corridor too many times to count, and eventually, she had memorized which way leads to where. Master Yang was nice enough to show here the tunnels that made up the labyrinth that Luo Jun had mentioned. She now knew where to go to reach the weapon's room, the basement, the kitchen, even a spare bedroom.

"Open."

The door swung open again, revealing the young man who always opened the door for her.

"Hey Mulan, ready for the mission?"

"I'm already packed and everything." She closed the door behind her as she walked in. "Jun, why do you always open the door when I come in?"

"Oh," he started. "Well, that's just something that Master Yang decided to hand to me. He thought that whoever arrived first should be the one to open the door for people."

"Where is Master Yang anyways?" she asked.

Mulan had expected him to walk in through the doorway when she asked (he had a good sense of timing). But he was not the only come in from the other room; the Emperor had walked in first. Master Yang followed swiftly after.

"You're Majesty!" she raised her eyebrows in shock. "What brings you to here?"

He didn't answer, and instead slowly strode over to the bench on the side. Master Yang closed the door behind him.

"Congratulations on passing your test," he said, with an air or seriousness about him. "Now, we can really move forward."

"Pardon me, sir, but what has all this training been for?" she and Jun sat down in front of him.

"Patience, child." He stroked his beard, Master Yang stood on his right side. "I will explain everything. Both of you have passed the final test, and in a few days, your mission will begin. However, before either of you can continue, you must first know why you are here, facing me, ready to serve, as countless generations before you have done."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "There have been others, sir?"

"Yes. Numerous generations have served before you, more or less for the same purpose." The Emperor glanced sideways at Master Yang, and nodded. Master Yang stepped forward, and spoke.

"I watched as you two have honed your skills, and have come to a decision. You both have earned my trust, and even more importantly, the Emperor's. I believe that you two are ready to join us."

"You two are now members of the Order of the Golden Dragon."

********

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* * *

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A/N:

I'm sorry for taking so long in between updates! I'm finding that it's getting harder to find time to write for this fic these days. However, even theough the updates may be far between, I do not plan on stopping this fic, and I don't see that happening for a while.

On a brighter note, thank you to those who reviewed the last chapter! It makes me happy to receive feedback.

Questions? Comments? Concerns? I'd love to hear it! No flames please, but constructive criticism is very much appreciated. Thanks for reading!


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